


Glósóli (Let the Sun Glow)

by outphan



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Apocalypse, Discrimination, Domestic, Kinda, M/M, Minor Violence, Phandom Reverse Bang, Phandom Reverse Bang 2017, Plantboy Phil Lester, Plants, Saving the World, it's a slight one towards the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 09:50:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12814950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outphan/pseuds/outphan
Summary: Phil Lester is a normal guy with a perfectly normal life. But then he bumps into a shadowy figure, who will change his life. He soon learns about the existence of powers and how it all relates to him.Phil starts discovering his hidden powers with the help of Dan. They also have to find meaning behind a dream Phil had, a dream that predicts a potential apocalypse.





	Glósóli (Let the Sun Glow)

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! Just wow! It took a bit over 2 months to write this monster of a fic for Phandom Reverse Bang, but I'm so glad I did. I love this story with all my heart.
> 
> First of all, check out [Andy's](http://andy-allan-poe.tumblr.com/) art [here which is superduper awesome](http://andy-allan-poe.tumblr.com/post/167805902642/fanfic-by-bvckybarn3s-coming-soon). I wrote this fic for this masterpiece. I hope this fic is half as good as the art is. 
> 
> Secondly, a massive thanks to [Tasha](http://yourfriendlyblogstalker.tumblr.com/) for being an awesome beta and putting up with my crazy schedule. I'm really grateful for all her help.
> 
> Thank you and I'm sorry I made you suffer with all my stupid questions and stuff. I'm dedicating this fic to the both of you.  
>  
> 
> As for the fic, I'd recommend listening to Sigur Rós especially [this playlist here](https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX52o4lyysLgf). The title is from one of their songs, Glósóli, and while the translation is not 100%, I got it from Wikipedia (so blame them lol). The lyrics and the translation can be found [here](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sigurros/glsli.html).
> 
> Thank you for reading it and I hope you'll enjoy it.

Nú vaknar þú          Now you are waking up  
Allt virðist vera breytt          Everything seems different  
Ég gægist út          I look around  
En ég sé ekki neitt          But I see nothing at all

 

* * *

 

 

“Once upon a time, there was an old lady. She lived in a nice, cosy cottage in an ancient village. She was well-liked and people thought she had magic powers.”

“What kind of magic, mummy?” 4-year-old Phil Lester asks, eyes wide with curiosity. He is in bed, clutching his duvet. This is his favourite story.

“Well, some people said that the vegetables in her garden grew very fast. Others said, she knew things no one else did. But most of the people believed that she could see the future.”

“What happened then?”

“A king came, asking for her help. See, his daughter, the princess, was kidnapped by a wicked witch. The king already used all his money to hire the best knights, but no one could find her. She was his last hope.”

“Did she find the princess?”

“Oh, she did. The princess was held in a forest, near a lake in a tower. The old lady led the knights right there. They defeated the witch and took the princess home.”

“Was she safe?”

“She was, thanks to the old lady.” Phil’s mum smiles. “Okay, Philly, time for bed.”

“Thank you for the story, mummy.”

She kisses his forehead, and leaves.

 

***

 

“I want a superhero story!” 8-year-old Phil says, jumping on his bed.

“Alright, but only if you get into bed, right away.” Phil nods, then _whoops_ down on the bed. His mum tucks him in, then sits next to him. “There was a city, called Manchester and…”

“Ew, mum, it can’t be called Manchester, it’s needs to have a cool name like Metropolis or Gotham City.”

“Okay, okay, well, how about… Chasm City?” Phil grins. “In Chasm City, most of the people were just like you and me, ordinary folks. But there were some who had very special powers. Most of them used it for good, helping the elderly with their shopping or rescuing kittens. Some used it for bad things, but the good also fought against them, keeping everyone  in the city safe.”

“Was there a super villain?”

“Yes, there was. His name was Meltdown and he wanted to eradicate the whole city. He had evil superpowers, like…”

“He could shoot fire with his eyes then squash people with his hands!”

“Exactly. He was also really clever and came up with a bomb that would destroy all the good people in his city. But there was one, very smart and resourceful superhero called AmazingPhil. He was the only one who could stop Meltdown. They fought and fought and fought for what seemed like days, but in the end, AmazingPhil realised that inside, Meltdown was made of fire.”

“AmazingPhil had ice powers, so with a single touch he froze Meltdown and everyone was safe in the city.”

“Exactly. AmazingPhil was so caring and kind and he was ready to save the whole world.”

“Yes!!” Phil wants to jump on the bed again, but his mum holds him back.

“School tomorrow. Sleep, please.”

“Another story with AmazingPhil! Another story with AmazingPhil!” Phil chants.

“Tomorrow, darling, okay?”

 

***

Phil blinks. Why did he remember those stories in the middle of a nightclub, when he’s tipsy? He shakes his head and focuses on his surroundings.

He hates nightclubs. He hated them when he was university, so why did he think it was a good idea now? He hates every single thing about nightclubs, the loud music, the obnoxious, drunk people, _dancing_. Sure, he enjoys a drink or two, but when it’s being forced down his throat...

It’s his friend’s birthday, he kind of had to accept those drinks. But he’d rather be at home, in his very comfy bed watching Netflix, not drinking the umpteenth shot. But what can he do? The others are already delirious enough so that they don’t notice he’s only pretending to enjoy himself.

“No, but uhhh okay so how about that chick?” One of his friends, David, points at a girl. Phil tries to focus on her, but his eyes are not cooperating. “She’s hot.”

“Everyone is hot for you, dude,” Emily, the birthday girl, says.

“Shh shh,” David slurs, wrapping his arm around Phil’s shoulder. “Go, get her number or I will.”

“All yours.” David’s face brightens, then he stands up to make his way to Hot Chick. “Alright. Imma head home.”

“Noooo, staaay!!” Emily leans across a couple of their friends to hold Phil’s hand. “It’s my birthday, you must do what I say.”

“Sorry, Em, I have a meeting tomorrow.” He doesn’t, but he says whatever to get out of the nightclub. Emily pouts, but moves her hand. “Happy birthday, girl, can’t believe you’re _this_ old!”

Emily swats in his direction, but she’s heavily intoxicated and he easily dodges.

Phil says goodbye to his friends, then stumbles out of the club. He’s smiling to himself, thinking about getting some food on the way home, then watching an episode of something. _Yes, this is going to be good_ , he thinks with an even bigger grin.

To shorten his route, he cuts through a barely lit alleyway. There is a couple kissing and moaning, but he’s too drunk to care. He’s humming some melody as he walks deeper and deeper into the darkness. And then…

_THUMP._

Phil bumps into someone. It’s too dark to make out the form of the stranger, but there’s something weird about him. It seems… _No, that can’t be. His eyes can’t be glowing!_ Before he can take another look, the stranger is gone. Phil thinks for a second before shrugging, then continues his way towards his favourite chippy shop already thinking about what to get.

 

He goes to sleep in the early hours of morning, but it’s not a good sleep. His dreams are weird. They usually are, but they are not like this. This time they are haunted. He dreams of a barren wasteland, where buildings are destroyed and nature has taken everything back.

The whole world is dark now, the sky is overcast with heavy clouds. Phil sees a little hut on the horizon; the lights are on, the only lights in this world. He starts running toward it, but the more he runs, the farther it seems. He reaches an overgrown forest with trees as tall as skyscrapers. Phil is stunned; he could swear it just grew there, out of nowhere. He looks around, but cannot see the edges of the forest. He hears howling. Wolves. He decides to go through the forest; the ferns seem normal enough, but as he steps over the first one, it begins to grow, lifting Phil into the air.

He tries to scream, but no sound leaves his throat. His heart is beating in his ears, a heavy drum rhythm. He goes further and further up, leaving the trees beneath him, then he is lifted through the clouds.

Stars shine above the clouds, but Phil has no time to admire them. The fern disappears and he is falling. He closes his eyes in fear. He still has no voice. He braces for impact but it doesn’t come. The air stills around him and he looks around. There is a dark, mysterious figure holding him. He is surrounded by a black cloud, but his eyes. His eyes seem to be glowing.

“What…” Phil wants to say, but he is still mute.

“Find me,” the stranger says softly. “You have to find me or this will happen.” He lets go of Phil, who begins his descent once again. He wakes up from his nightmare as he hits the ground.

“What the hell!” Phil exclaims. He is drenched in cold sweat, his duvet twisted around him. He sits up in his bed, pushing his sweaty bedding away.

The Sun shines in through his window; it’s midday now. He feels hungover, or still a bit drunk, but he can’t shake the uneasy feeling of his nightmare. He needs to figure out what that dream meant.

He rubs his eyes and puts on his glasses. That’s when he sees it.

His room is a mess and that’s an understatement. Phil could probably find some earthly explanation for this, if he really wanted, but he also knows that this is just insane.

His beloved houseplants have somehow started to live their own lives. They’ve grown substantially in size overnight; the tallest one, a ficus, used to reach up to Phil’s waist, but  now it’s touching the ceiling. His books are on the floor, along with most of his clothes and other knick-knacks. It seems like the room went through a hurricane Phil didn’t know about. And it seems… It seems like the source of the chaos is his houseplants.

It takes a moment for the fear to kick in. He jumps out of bed, avoiding the plants, then grabs some clothes and runs out his door, slamming it shut behind him. He could take a peek back, maybe he just imagined it, but he knows his brain cannot make up something like this.

“This is crazy…” he mutters to himself as he pulls up his jeans. “Plants don’t just grow overnight.”

He knows that they don’t, but they clearly did, and that’s terrifying. It seems like Phil fell into the middle of a sci-fi novel. Or a horror. (Pennywise wasn’t hiding behind Phil’s kitchen door.)

He shoves it all under a mental carpet while he drinks his coffee. He goes through his social media routine for comfort. He catches up on Twitter, likes some pictures on Instagram, then texts his friends if they made it home safely. The scene in his bedroom still lingers in his mind, but he tries to ignore the issue as long as possible, but once he’s finished with his drink, he can no longer put it off.

How should he even start? Googling “Help, my plants grew 6 foot in 6 hours and somehow they made a mess in my room oh and also I had a dream about a post-apocalyptic world and I can’t shake the feeling that they are connected” doesn’t seem to be the right idea. And He can’t just go around asking people about it, that’d be awkward, right?

But Phil’s desperate enough to risk being thought crazy. He calls Emily, she won’t think Phil lost his mind. Maybe she can calm him, maybe she’ll say that he was just very drunk.

“Phil, jeez, what time is it?”

“Hey, sorry Em, I have a… question, sorta.”

“Who’s that?” an unknown man asks on Emily’s end.

“I’m hanging up, Phil, it’s too early.”

Phil sighs as the call ends. Well, that didn’t turn out well. On a whim, he calls Martyn, his brother.

“Hey, Philly Cheesesteak, what’s up?”

“Don’t call me that. I need your help.”

“Hiding a body? Getting rid of a girl? Getting rid of a boy?”

“Martyn, I’m serious.”

“Okay, okay, hit me up.”

Phil tells him about his dream and the plants. “It’s crazy, I know it is, but I swear, it’s real.”

Martyn is quiet for a moment. “How much did you drink?”

“What?”

“Phil, you sent me a text at 3 am. You were off your tits drunk. I’m sure whatever happened, you did it when you were drunk.”

“Come on, you don’t believe me? Don’t answer that. I gotta go.”

Phil hangs up, then proceeds to stare at his phone for a few long seconds. Why does everyone think that he lost his mind?

He makes himself another coffee and starts a frantic internet search. He Googles “dream meanings”, “realistic dreams”, “vivid dreams” (here he gets a bit sidetracked, and uses webMD to determine that he either has schizophrenia or he’s still drunk, and let’s admit, webMD is a sham). He reads that apocalypse dreams often mean the something in life will change; those dreams are often also a result of stress. That, however, still doesn’t explain why the dream felt so real.

He’s about to look for paranormalists, when his phone rings. It’s his mum. He hesitates to pick it up as he’s sure the first thing Martyn did was call her.

“Hey, mum,” Phil greets her with a caution.

“Hey, sweetie, how are you?”

“I’m good, thanks, what about you? How’s dad?”

“Oh, we’re both fine. Listen…” _Here we go,_ Phil thinks. “Martyn called.”

“I’m fine, mum, he was right. I was just really drunk.”

She’s quiet for a second. Phil’s not sure if she believes him. “Do you remember the stories I used to tell you when you were little?”

Phil furrows his brows. What do they have to do with anything? But it feels spooky, he was just thinking about them the previous night. He shakes this feeling and answers his mum. “I remember a few. There was the story about the fish, and another about some superhero.”

“Yes, AmazingPhil. I’m talking about that. But there was another one too, you were very small, so you might not remember. It was a fairytale.”

“Like Snow White and stuff?”

“No, this one, I made it up. Well, kind of. It was about an old lady with magical powers.”

Phil’s face suddenly lights up. It used to be his favourite story, he’d wanted to hear it so many times. Then as he grew, he became more interested in superheroes and animals with superhero capes.

“Yeah, the one where she saves a princess.”

“Yes, that one. I’ve never told you or your brother, but that was based on a true story.”

“What do you mean true?”

She sighs. “It was about your nan. People believed she had psychic powers and she did find a girl who disappeared.” She hesitates. “But Phil, please. Those were just people wanting believe in stuff, wanting to have an other-worldly explanation for something completely normal. It’s all ridiculous. Plants don’t just grow that much overnight. Don’t be like your nan.”

The wheels in Phil’s brain start turning. Now knows who he needs to talk to. “I know, I’m sorry. Listen, I gotta go, I’m waiting for a package…” he lies.

“Oh, sure, sure. I love you!”

“Love you, too, mum.”

 

He hates the bus ride to the care home where his nan lives. It’s long, the roads are going up and down constantly, making him travel sick. Being hungover and/or still drunk doesn’t help either. He loves his nan, but he hates going there; he doesn’t know how she’s going to be or if she’ll know who he is.

She used to live alone in a small cottage not far from the place where Phil grew up. His granddad died a couple of years ago, so Phil had tried to visit her as often as possible. But she started losing her balance frequently, fell more and more so she had to go live in a care home. She likes it there, she says. But Phil can see that she’s sad that she lost some of her independence.

The bus stops right in front of the home. Phil walks in, already anxious. He always promises himself that he’ll call his nan more often, but he never does. It’ll be different this time.

A blonde girl is sitting behind the reception desk, chatting on the phone. When she sees Phil, she lifts a perfectly manicured finger and smiles at him.

“Okay, yeah, I gotta go, but I’ll call ya back later, yeah? Tell Jane that Gerard is doing fine. Okay, bye.” She puts down the phone and turns her attention to Phil. “Hiya, how can I help ya?”

“Hi, I’m here to see Martha Cole please.”

“Your name and relationship, please?”

“Phil Lester, I’m her grandson.”

She scribbles something down then gives a sticker with a black “V” on it to Phil. “She should be in the common room, go on through.” She smiles at Phil as she presses a buzzer to let Phil in.

The room is filled with life. Old ladies are sitting on sofas while knitting. There are chess matches and card games to be won; there are others who are quietly enjoying a cuppa and catching up with friends.

Phil finds his nan sitting in a comfy looking armchair, reading. They’ve always bonded over reading books; it was her who introduced him to Charles Dickens and Jules Verne. There’s always a book with her.

When she sees Phil, her face lights up. “Oh, Phil!” She puts the book down and stands up to hug his grandson.

“Hi, nan!” Phil carefully squeezes her fragile body. “How’ve you been?”

“Oh, I’m good, I’m good. I’ve been expecting you.”

“You have?”

She sits down, while pointing at another chair by the wall. Phil quickly gets it, and sits closely to her. “Yes. It’s been so long since I last saw you.”

“I was here two weeks ago!”

She laughs. “That’s two weeks too long.” She picks up her book and hands it to Phil. “It’s good. Your brother bought it for me.”

Phil checks the book’s spine. It’s _The Blackwater Lightship_ by Colm Tóibín. “I’ve never heard of it. Is it good?”

“Yes, it’s quite nice. It’s the same author who wrote _Brooklyn_ , so I’m enjoying it a lot.”

“That’s nice, I’m glad to hear.” Phil puts the book down and cleans his throat. “Listen…”

“I know why you came, Phil.”

“Mum called?” Phil furrows his brows. _Great,_ he thinks, _now everyone in the family will think I’m a lunatic._

“No, but I know you. Like I said, I was expecting you. I know what you saw and I believe you have some questions.”

Phil hesitates for a second. Should he really say anything? He kept going over it in his head while he was on the bus and he knows he's being ridiculous. The dream was a simple intoxicated dream. The plants… Well, maybe the fertiliser? Or maybe it’s because Phil was busy for a couple of days so he didn’t spend hours watching his plants. He knows that there is an earthly explanation. There has to be.

“No, I… It’s okay, nan. I had a lot to drink last night.”

“Phil.” She leans forward, clutching his hand. “You know what you saw is real. And it is. The dream chose you and it wasn’t a coincidence.”

“What do you mean?” Phil’s heart skips a beat. “Wait, I never told you about the dream.” His nan just looks at him, waiting for him to put together the puzzle. “Mum said something about the bedtime stories I heard when I was a kid. She said… she said people think  you have some kind of powers, but that… That can’t be true, right?” She smiles, the type of sly smile that doesn’t even require a verbal confirmation. Finally, the penny drops for Phil; he talks slowly and quietly. “You found the girl because you knew where to look. You know about the dream because, well...”

“Yes, Phil.” She smiles delightfully for a moment, but then her face turns grim. “Listen to me. If what you saw in your dream is coming, we’re in huge danger. After last night, I believe you have something in you, too. I’m not sure what, but there isn’t much I can do to help.”

“What do you mean by ‘something in me’?”

“A power, darling. I’m a clairvoyant as you now know.” She points across the room to another old lady sitting in a wheelchair, talking to herself. “Dear old Edna over there can read minds. Bless her, it drove her crazy. Then there’s Seamus upstairs. He’s a healer. Funnily enough, the only person he can’t heal is himself.” She shakes her head. “Anyway. You have a power that is truly unique to you, but it’ll be your journey to figure it out.”

“This is crazy…” Phil mumbles to himself. _Psychic powers? I can walk on water now?_

“I know how this sounds. But I’m so happy there’s someone else in the family!”

“I’ve… I’ve gotta go.” Phil stands up, almost knocking an old man over. Yes, he just needs to go home, clean up his bedroom and move on. That’ll be the best.

“Listen, Phil.” His nan grabs his wrist. “Go to the park tonight at midnight and wait by General Pascoe’s statue. The answer will be there.” Before Phil could question it, she smiles at him, letting him go. “Oh, next time you come, would you bring me something to read? Something exciting.”

It takes a second to react, but Phil nods then kisses her cheeks.

 

Phil doesn’t go home. He doesn’t want to deal with… _that._ He doesn’t even want to think about what his nan told him. Instead, he holes up in a cafe, drinking sugar with some coffee in it and watches cat videos until he can’t stand the fluffiness.

At some point, however, when he is fed up with kittens and bunnies playing, he catches himself watching people passing by. He usually does this, just wondering who they are, what they do and what their hopes and dreams are.

Today, however, he’s watching them for another reason. Growing up, he loved superheroes, extraordinary people with abilities to protect others. Now he wonders if the woman in purple wellies can manipulate fire or the man reading a book in the corner is able to move things with his mind.

As utterly crazy as it is, he knows he needs to go to that place tonight. To get some answers and calm his mind. Maybe then he’ll know that whatever his nan was talking about wasn’t true.

However, he still doesn’t want to go home. Instead, he calls his friends to see if they want to grab dinner and distract him until midnight.

Midnight rolls around both incredibly fast and painfully slowly. In the last hour, Phil checks his phone every two minutes. It’s only 10 minutes away from the restaurant, but he leaves 20 minutes early, just to make sure. He quickly says his goodbyes, before practically running away from his friends.

The park is dark, but that only makes it more alluring for others. Phil can hear drunken laughter and chatter coming from all around him, but his eyes are focused on the statue. As he gets closer, he can see that there is someone sitting on the steps, away from the lights, in almost darkness. At first, he thinks it’s just one of the regular drunk people, but he quickly realises that there’s something about this person. Something peculiar, something… something he’s met before. It’s the person from his dream. The boy he bumped into less than 24 hours ago. How he knows, without actually seeing him, is a mystery to him, but so is the situation in his bedroom.

Phil tries to be quiet, he really does, but he’s a tall and clumsy person with loud steps so of course the boy sees him. The shadowy figure jumps up and starts backing away from Phil.

“Whoa, easy there,” Phil says calmly and quietly. “I’m not coming any closer. I just wanna chat.”

“What do you want?” The boy asks, his voice the same as the one Phil heard in the dream.

“I want… I _need_ answers.”

“I can’t help you, I’m sorry.” The boy pulls his hood up, wanting to leave.

“I saw you. In a dream.” Quiet. The person is listening, but he’s still facing away from Phil. “I thought I was crazy. But now…” Phil doesn’t know how to explain it. It just _makes sense._ His dream wasn’t stupid, it really did mean something. “I think we met. Not in the dream, but last night. Then today, my nan told me to come here, she said I’d find answers here.”

The boy does the one thing Phil’s not expecting. He starts laughing. He turns back to face Phil, lowering his hood. “Your grandma is Martha, isn’t it? That old goober.” He steps closer, so close Phil can now see his face. And he is utterly stunning. He has brown, curly hair; pink cheeks and dimples to die for. There is also a faint hint of glowing in his eyes, the same Phil saw last night. “I’m Dan. And I take it you’re the amazing Phil Lester.”

“How do you know me?” Phil asks in confusion.

“Martha won’t shut up about you. I feel like I know you better I know myself.”

“I still want answers.”

“And I’ll give them to you. But not here. Follow me.”

Dan starts walking fast. He’s almost as tall as Phil, yet Phil has trouble keeping up with him. They walk through the park, towards a corner everyone avoids. It’s got a bad reputation, even the shadiest people stay away from it.

Phil tries to talk to Dan as they’re walking, but he gets no answer. So instead, he keeps his mouth shut, quietly wondering who this guy is or why his nan told him to find him. It’s not like Phil fully believes this stuff. People with superpower just don’t exist. They’re like ghosts. Some people believe they exist, some don’t, but that doesn’t prove anything. Maybe these are just a bunch of lunatics who are involved in some sort of cult.

But that doesn’t explain everything else. Not his dream, not the plants and definitely not this boy. So for now, Phil will try to keep an open mind.

“Where are we going?” Phil asks, when he gets sick of being quiet.

They cross the road and are walking down  a street with abandoned houses. “We’re almost there,” Dan says. They reach the middle of the road. It’s dark; the streetlights are damaged and the sky is overcast, Phil can only see Dan in front of him. He wonders how Dan knows where they’re going. They stop so suddenly, Phil almost knocks Dan over. “Stay here for a sec.”

They’ve stopped in front of a house, but that’s all Phil can see. Dan disappears. There’s some creaking, maybe a door being opened. There’s a burst of brightness as Dan turns his phone’s torch on. He steps through the door and disappears into the house, along with any sort of light.

 _This is definitely where I’ll get murdered,_ Phil thinks. Really, he wonders if he should just leave, pack a suitcase and move to Malta. He’s not sure if going into a house like this is a wise idea. He feels vulnerable standing there, with no lights and not a soul in sight. Or maybe that’ll be his saviour. Either way, he feels like he’s in a horror film.

“Dan?” he whispers into the night, when he hears some rustling. _Maybe it’s a bunny. God, I hope it’s a bunny._

“Boo,” Dan says, standing behind him. Phil _just_ manages to avoid screaming “Sorry. Had to. Come in, it’s safe.” Phil follows Dan into the house, wondering if it’s the sane decision to do.

There’s only so much Phil can see as Dan’s torch is still the only light source, but the inside of the house isn’t looking great; there’s mould, cobwebs and judging from the rustling, possibly rats, too, but Dan doesn’t care. They walk through a very rotten looking hallway, straight into the living room. The room itself would be very big, but there are worrisome looking metal barrels, a broken bookcase and several lumpy black bags.

“What is this place?” Phil asks with disgust.

Dan also looks at the bags, and grins. “Don’t worry. They only seem like body bags. They’re just pillows stuffed into bin bags.”

“Clever.”

“I had to find a place. Everyone avoids it, especially the council. Those are just for protection.” Dan gets a key from his pocket and crouches in front of the under stairs storage. He opens the lock and pulls the door open. “Go down there,” Dan says, pointing to a ladder. Phil hesitates. It looks shady. Going into the lair of a serial killer would feel the same, he reckons. “I won’t murder you, don’t worry.”

That doesn’t calm Phil, but he has no other choice. His tall frame barely fits through the door, but eventually he manages and starts climbing down the ladder. Dan follows him; he also locks the door from the inside, then puts a wooden board in front of it as well.

When he reaches the bottom, Phil is surprised to see a fairly big basementy thing. It’s well lit, so it takes a second for Phil’s eyes to adjust. The room is divided into three sections: bedroom, kitchen, and living room with computers. There’s also a room to the side which, Phil suspects, is the bathroom. He would’ve imagined an underground hiding place to be dirty, but it’s actually nice and clean, apart from the pizza boxes piling up next to the fridge.

There’s a big, steel shelving unit, stocked with food. Next to it, a small kitchen, perfect for one. Computers and Dan’s massive bed takes up most of the space, but there’s also room for a two seater and blue beanbag.

“This is where you live?” Phil asks, when Dan is standing next to him.

“Yeah, I’ve been here for almost 2 years now. It’s my cave.”

“Your cave? Like your man cave?”

Dan laughs, it’s loud and obnoxious and pretty much the best thing ever. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s my dank cave.” Phil opens his mouth, but Dan silences him with a look. “I know, it’s not _actually_ that dank but…”

“I was just going to say that it’s nice.”

They look at each other, and it’s like Phil is meant to be here. Like he was meant to find Dan. Phil never believed in fate or destiny, not really, but then again, before, he believed everyone was plain human and no superpowers existed.

Dan is the first one to look away. “Anyways… I believe you had some questions.” He points to his living room area. Phil hesitates; he is _really_ tempted to take the beanbag. Dan sighs. “Sure, go ahead.” Phil stares at him. _Can he read… Dan, can you read my mind?_ Dan laughs. “Don’t be ridiculous, I can’t.”

“Then how did…”

“You had a funny look on your face and seriously, you were checking out Esther pretty hard.”

“Esther? You named it?”

“It’s a she, and yes, she has feelings. Besides, I have no one else to talk to, she’s my only friend.”

“You’re a weird one.”

“Aw, thanks for the compliment.”

Phil rolls his eyes. He sits down on the sofa as he doesn’t want to offend _Esther_ then begins to wonder what the sofa’s name is. Dan falls into the beanbag and balances a laptop on his thighs.

“So… Who are you? What is going on? Why did I have to find you? How do you know my nan? How do you get your groceries? What does my dream mean? When…”

“Whoa, slow down. Honestly, I don’t understand why you care about my groceries and not the fact that I live in the shadiest part of town in an underground hole.”

“It’s a basement.”

“It’s a World War II shelter I renovated.”

Phil opens his mouth to ask how, as Dan doesn’t particularly strike him as a DIY-genius, but then he realises it’s not the time. “Okay, can we get back to the questions?”

“First tell me about your dream.” And Phil does. He tells everything, even the stupidest little detail and the situation in his bedroom. He knows that Dan won’t think he’s crazy who keeps a straight face, but once Phil is done, he doesn’t ask anything else. After long moments, he says, “I’ve heard some stuff. Mostly rumours. Some of us go crazy because of the powers. Anyway. I’m not in contact with a lot of people, but I still hear whispers. Apparently, someone out there might have a unique power no one has ever seen. Much worse, capable of doing things like you described. Maybe… I don’t know.” Dan looks around his home, as if he’s looking for the answer. “Maybe it’s just something someone made up.”

“But how do I fit into the picture?”

They stare at each other, not wanting to say the obvious. “No, that’s stupid. If you were that person, your power would’ve manifested itself by now. Especially if it’s something big.”

“Okay, so…?”

“Maybe like your grandma, a psychic. As far as I’m aware your mum is powerless, so maybe it skipped a generation. Based on your dream, I’d say you can predict the future.”

They’re quiet for a while. There are thoughts running around in Phil’s head, one’s crazier than the other. Finally, he is the first to break the silence. “Do you think it’ll happen? That apocalypse.”

“I don’t want to say yes or no. I’ll reach out to others, maybe they have some more info. For now, I’d say we should get some rest. We need to find out what your power is and then train you, so you’ll need your strength.”

“Is that like… necessary?” Phil asks.

“Well, there are people who went crazy without training. I’m surprised you managed to keep your sanity, to be honest.”

“How reassuring.” Phil could argue with it and he probably will, but for now he’s tired and he’s a long way away from home. So he stands up, wanting to go home. “Can you write down how I get here? I’m not sure I’ll remember tomorrow…”

“What?” Dan looks at him confused. Phil stares back just as confused. “You can’t leave. We don’t have much time.”

“You mean I can’t go home and sleep in my own bed? This is ridiculous. Sure, I can see the point of training, though I don’t exactly understand it so we’ll come back to that later. Now you’re staying I have to stay here? Or  else what? You gonna kill me? I’m pretty sure you already kidnapped me,” Phil says, suddenly freaking out. _Well, it was supposed to happen sooner or later._

“Well, I reckon it’d be the best. Look, I know this is weird.”

“It-it-it...” he stutters.

Dan stands up and walks to him. He looks into Phil’s eyes, trying to see through him. “It’ll be fine. I’m one of the good guys. If you really want to go home, feel free to do so, I don’t want to keep you here against your will. But I do think, for your best interests, it would be wise if you just stayed here.” Dan opens his arms as a way to include the basement in his speech. “This is all I have. This basement. No friends, only acquaintances who help me if I help them. No parents. Just me and this odd power. I have nothing to hide, Phil,” Dan says his name so softly it breaks Phil’s heart. “I know what it’s like to be just a person discovering the power they have. I know it can be terrifying and you’ll start worrying after a while, and trust me, that won’t help. But I’m here to help you. And if your dream is real too, you’ll help me too.”

Silence. Phil knows Dan’s right. He knows they need each other. He could be bluffing, and already preparing his knife to skin Phil alive. _Too morbid?,_ he thinks. But Dan trusted him and invited him back to his basement, his home he’s been trying to hide from everyone.

He _could_ try it, just for a while. Just to see if the training’s working.

“It’s super weird.”

“I know we literally met like 20 minutes ago, but if we are meant to work together, you’ll have to stay here. It’s for the best.” Phil knows that. It’s really crazy, but then again so are his plants, so the meaning of crazy change about 18 hours ago. “So, will you stay?”

“We can give this a go.”

“Sure,” Dan says with a slight smile. “If anything’s up, you can go anytime.” Phil nods and yawns. _Yep, definitely time for bed._ _Where will I sleep, though?_ “You can take the bed. I’m a night owl and I’m pretty comfortable here in my Esther.”

“You need to stop calling that Esther.”

Dan sits in Esther and he looks at his computer, reading something. Phil sits back down, observing around his new (temporary) home. It’s not ideal, it’s pretty far away from that. “How do you have internet and power and stuff? Wouldn’t you need like an address for it?”

“I’m a prodigy in engineering, I know everything about machines and bolts and…” Phil chucks the closest thing in Dan’s direction, which happens to be a pencil. He misses and it makes Dan laugh. “The internet, where else? I looked up how to make a small wind turbine which is stashed in the garden. It’s enough for most of the stuff here, but I also have a generator, just in case. As for the internet, it took a while to figure out, but 4G works best. Without getting into too much detail, they’ll think I’m in Inverness, not here.”

“Why all the secrecy, though?”

Dan sighs. “The people who believe in us come in two, very distinct categories. They’re either cool with it and don’t cause us any problems or the more radical kind, well, they want to hunt us down and either experiment on us or just simply kill us.”

“Cool, totally comforting,” Phil says, suddenly feeling a _tiny bit_ scared for his life. If, as Dan says, time is critical, he needs to know what Dan can do. Should he tiptoe around it or just be blunt and ask him straight away? He doesn’t exactly have experience in this. “Dan…”

“Jeez, it takes ages for you to make a decision.”

“So you finally admit you can read minds?”

Dan lifts his hands defensively. “Okay, I _may_ have misled you. I wouldn’t call it telepathy though. If someone is close enough, I have an idea what they’re thinking, but I can’t get exact thoughts. It takes practice and believe me, it is fucking hard.”

“Cool, cool, cool.” Phil is not freaking out, he can totally deal with this.

“Now you’re just turning into Jake Peralta.”

Phil ignores his comment. “What about your eyes, though? I saw them glow.”

“I know you’re about to freak out, but please don’t, yeah? It’s a lot to digest, don’t worry, been there.” Dan stands up and turns the light off. The room is pitch black. His back is facing towards Phil, so he doesn’t see it right away. “I’ve had it as long as I can remember. It’s… I can’t really go outside because of this and another thing as well.” He turns back to Phil, and it’s there. Dan’s eyes are glowing. They are faint yellow; it’s enough to light up his eyes. They’re the only light source in the room. They wouldn’t be enough to provide light to read a book, but as Phil looks at it, it’s clear to see.

“Lights on?” Phil asks.

“It’s not really useful, though.” Dan turns to switch the light on, while Phil stands up as quietly as possible. “I don’t have night vision and I’m not like Hawkeye, it’s pretty ordinary. They mostly come out at night, the darker the better, really.” By the time Dan finishes his sentence, Phil is standing near him, as close as socially acceptable.

“They’re lovely.” Dan blushes and Phil can feel the heat radiating. Dan looks away; to change the topic, Phil asks, “You said there was another thing as well?”

Dan’s still looking away. “It’s… weird. I don’t know what they are or what they’re supposed to do exactly. I just have this power and trying to use it the best I can.” He takes a deep breath and turns towards Phil. “Please, don’t freak out.”

Before Phil could say anything, the whole basement gets overwhelmed with… shadows, for the lack of a better term. They’re little black clouds, attached to Dan, as if they are protecting him. Some surround his body, some levitate a bit further away, like they’re watching for warning signs.

Phil is way too mesmerised to initiate a full-on freak out mode. He steps closer, but Dan steps away from him. Phil stands still. “Sorry.”

“It’s not you, I just get this… urge to protect myself. Or more precisely, they give me that feeling.”

“What are they?”

Dan doesn’t say anything, instead he just concentrates on something. The next moment the clouds are gone. “That’s better.” Dan falls into his beanbag and points at the sofa. Phil sits down as well, trying to take up as little space as possible. “They’re spirits. I don’t know whose if anyone’s at all, but that’s what they are. They’re sort of my handymen. Protection, fight or flight, anything really. The eyes and telepathy, too. I was about 8 or 9 when I first discovered I had it. I was scared shitless.” Dan sighs. Phil can feel his pain; it must’ve been horrible to have them as a kid. “At first, I wasn’t be able to control them. They came and went whenever they wanted to. My parents…” Dan shakes his head, and doesn’t finish the sentence. “It took years to be able to call them or send them away at will. Sometimes they still pop up randomly, so just to be safe, I stay inside, unless I _have to_ go out.”

Phil nods, not knowing what to say. This is a lot to take in, really. He went from complete oblivion to sitting in a basement of some random guy who says superheroes are real and he has these spirits protecting him in just less than an hour. Plus, there’s the thing of him having powers, too. He just sits there, staring in front of himself. It’s scary, it’s stupid, it’s… everything.

Growing up, Phil wanted to be special. When he was a little boy, he was just like everyone else: he scraped his knee, took his time on the bike and so on. As he got older, things started to get awkward. During college, he was always taller than everyone, his limbs long and ungraceful. He was also the clumsiest person on the planet. He just wanted to fit in. But then, after he started university, after he met people who were just as awkward as he was, he didn’t want to change a thing about himself.

Now, in this basement, a couple of years later, this rocked his world. It’s another thing to process. He has so many questions, but they aren’t really articulate. He wants to ask Dan what needs to be done, how he should do it and why, however they don’t seem to matter.

Phil blinks as Dan waves his hand in front of his face. “What?” Phil says, still dazed.

“I just asked if you wanted to go to bed. It’s been a long day, I guess you have some stuff to deal with.”

“Yeah…” Phil still doesn’t move. He thinks about pyjamas and a toothbrush and just how exactly this is going to work. “Dan…”

Dan smiles slyly, as if he’s pretending he didn’t just read Phil’s mind. “I keep some stuff around, in case one of us needs a hiding place. They’re in the bathroom.” With that, Dan looks back at his computer.

Phil gets up and makes his way to the bathroom. It’s nothing special, just white tiles with a toilet, sink and a shower that looks way too small to fit a human being. He finds the clothes in a cardboard box, with a blue toothbrush packed into the T-shirt. He changes, washes his face and his teeth. Then he just stays there, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

What would his power be? Maybe Dan was right, maybe he can predict the future. He concentrates hard, trying to see a glimpse of something that might happen tomorrow, but nothing. He then focuses on Dan, maybe Phil can read minds, too. He just looks stupid doing it, so with a sigh he gives up.

Tiredness hits him hard by the time he gets to the bed. Dan’s right; it’s been a long, long day and he just wants to sleep until the end of time. Phil sits on the bed and looks at Dan. “Sorry for taking the bed.”

“No worries, mate. I need the laptop, but I’ll turn off the lights, yeah?”

“Sure, I’m,” Phil yawns, “knackered anyway.”

“Night.”

“Night.”

As Phil gets into bed, Dan stands up to turn off the light. The last thing Phil sees before drifting off is Dan’s glowing eyes.

 

“I know what your power is!”

Phil jolts up, confused, and headachey. He tries to look around, but everything is dark. “I think.”

Phil blinks. He’s still in bed, but Dan is next to him. “What…?” He doesn’t finish it, but it’s a loaded question. _What do you mean? What are you doing here? What are we doing in the dark?_

“Oh, shit, sorry.” Dan turns on the bedside lamp. Phil is temporarily blinded by the sudden light, but once his eyes adjust, he looks for his glasses. Then he looks at Dan, who’s showing a slight smile.  “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you. I’m not used to living with someone else.”

“Living is an overstatement. I’ve been here for like an hour.”

“You’ve been sleeping for ten, actually.”

Phil looks around, trying to find a window, before realising he’s underground. He puts on his glasses and turns back to Dan. They are both in bed, under the same duvet. Phil can’t help but wonder if they… No, he doesn’t have time for that.

“So?”

“Well, I’ve been reading forums and like the dark web and stuff, after you went to bed.” Dan gets his phone from the bedside table and opens up a blog. “I didn’t find anything about that deadly superpower really, but I did read about this girl who can control plants. She can just revitalise them or make ‘em dead and that got me thinking. I was gonna sleep on the beanbag, but Esther’s not really comfortable, but anyways, I was drifting in and out of sleep, because my mind kept going. You said your plants went crazy, right?”

“Yeah, overtook my room and everything. But only in my bedroom. The ones in the living room were fine, I think.”

“Well, what do most plants need?”

“You mean like photosynthesis?” Dan nods as he’s looking for something on his phone. “Water, light and carbon dioxide, but I don’t see how…”

Here, Dan turns the phone towards Phil. There’s a video of a girl, younger than Phil, standing in front of a bunch of plants. She’s speaking some foreign language. It’s a dark room, with no windows in sight. The ceiling light is the only lightsource. But then she turns towards the plants, a lemon tree and a very dead looking ficus, and puts her hand on the leaves of the ficus and a ray of light shoots out from her hand, and the plant comes back to life. Dan skips ahead to a bit, where the light is turned off and she does the same thing again, but this time the ray is more visible.

“So, according to this article, the girl is like 12, way younger than you are so she must be receiving the proper training. You didn’t realise your power until your 20s, so what if it manifests itself way more intensely?”

“But that… that doesn’t make sense.” Phil stands up, stretching. “This wasn’t my first nightmare, but nothing like this has ever happened.”

“Then something must’ve triggered it. Maybe you saw something the day before or…”

“I bumped into you!” Phil says at the same time Dan says, “You crashed into me.”

Dan stands up too, walking to the kitchen to get started on coffee. “That must be it, but that doesn’t explain why… Oh.”  Dan’s eyes go wide and he steps closer to Phil. “My power, the spirits, is dark, right? That doesn’t mean evil, just black, and you’re a ray of sunshine…”

“Am not!” Phil says, not really knowing why he’s so offended.

“You were dreaming about puppies playing with cats. Trust me, you are.” Phil smiles, it must’ve been a nice dream. “But what if you’re _literally_ a ray of sunshine?”

“You mean, I can do the same thing?”

“Maybe even more. Yin and yang, black and white, dark and light, they go hand-in-hand. I’m wondering…” Dan steps even closer and without hesitation, he grabs Phil’s hand, lacing their fingers together. Although Phil doesn’t know what it is exactly, he can immediately feel the effects. His body gets lighter, all stress and confusion leaves him. He seems to go to a place he didn’t know existed, a place without anything. He’s just there, floating, still holding hands with Dan who looks at ease. He looks so peaceful. It’s like they are two pieces of a puzzle, perfectly complementing each other. _“Can you hear me?”_ Dan says, but his lips are not moving. Phil can hear him in his mind.

_“Yes. Can you?”_

_“Yeah. It seems we can share powers or something when we’re touching.”_

_“It’s beautiful.”_

_“It really is.”_ Dan smiles, the most beautiful thing Phil has ever seen. “ _You know I can hear, or see or I don’t know the correct term, what you’re thinking.”_

 _“I know. I just wanted you to know.”_ Dan smiles even wider and _this is the most beautiful thing Phil has ever seen. “How does this feel for you?”_

_“I feel… Content. Happy. I don’t think there are words to describe it.”_

_“I don’t want to go back.”_

_“Me neither, but if we want to figure out what this is, we have to.”_

Phil nods and lets go Dan’s hand. The next moment, they’re back in Dan’s basement, surrounded by things. They stand there, looking at each other, hands lingering, waiting for a single touch, but this time, it doesn’t come.

“Wow,” Phil says finally. Being back in reality feels odd, but it’s a nice kind. He seems to understand more about his role in this whole situation, but something in his mind is blocking him to put it together. It feels like a mosaic, waiting to be completed. However, he does feel something, a new sort of fondness, towards Dan. It’s gratitude, it’s appreciation. “Just wow.”

“You tell me…” Dan shows a genuine smile, then turns away, as if he doesn’t want Phil to see his real self. “Coffee?”

“Sure, but I’ll do it. You’ve figured me out.”

Dan sits on the bed as Phil walks into the kitchen. This, he knows. He knows how to make decent, nay, good coffee. He’s got this.

“Uh, Phil?” Dan says, his voice is full of questions.

“Hm?” He turns towards Dan, holding a spoon.

“What happened to your shadow?”

Phil wrinkles his forehead. _What a stupid question._

But he quickly realises, Dan’s right. The only light currently on is Dan’s bedside lamp,  so Phil’s shadow should be where the kitchen is. But it’s not there. In fact, his shadow seems to be completely missing. “What the hell!” he exclaims, dropping the spoon.

“Stay still,” Dan orders him. He points his phone towards Phil and takes a photo. “Oh my god. Come here.” Phil does, still looking for his shadow, but it’s nowhere to be seen. Dan hands him the phone, then Phil immediately sees it. Light seems to be radiating from Phil’s body, but it’s only visible on the photo. “You can’t see your shadow, because you _are_ a lightsource. Told you were the actual sunshine. This is mental,” he says with a grin, like this is the best thing he’s ever seen.

“This is stupid,” Phil says, his fear is back. “It’s insane and ridiculous.”

“Hey,” Dan stands up and walks to Phil. He almost puts a hand on Phil’s shoulder, but pulls his hand back. “Going to that place wouldn’t be good now. Anyway, I know how you feel. I know you’re worried and scared, and it’s completely normal. I felt the same. But there’s nothing to that can harm you here. I’ve got you. With or without your shadow” Phil looks into Dan’s eyes. They seem sincere. There’s a faint glow to them, barely visible, but it’s definitely there. He believes him, mostly, but this situation is terrifying. “I know it is,” he say says, Phil suddenly remembering Dan knows what he’s thinking. “I think you’d feel better if you had some of your stuff as well, so why don’t you head home, grab some clothes, then we can start figuring stuff out?”

“I don’t think I should go out. Missing shadow, and whatnot.”

Dan is quietly thinking. He takes a step back and starts pacing up and down. “You were fine before we went to that place, right? When I first started practicing, I could send the spirits away if I calmed myself and completely emptied my mind. I know how you felt when we touched, I know you were relaxed. So maybe if you did that again…”

Phil nods and closes his eyes. It’s going to be hard, there’s so much on his mind. He keeps thinking, he keeps going over the events of the last 24 hours. Most of the thoughts are just blobs, not forming complete ideas, but still lurking. He  gives up with a sigh. “I can’t. I’m… I can’t.”

“Okay, so what if we did the same thing again? Maybe it’ll help.”

Phil doesn’t want to seem so eager, so he hesitates for a second, but in hindsight, Dan must’ve heard that thought. “Sure.” He holds his hand out, which Dan grabs, lacing their fingers together.

It’s easy to get back into that place. It’s beautiful, it’s peaceful. There’s no harm, no bad thoughts there. Phil closes his eyes once again, and this time he just is, floating through that space, holding onto Dan.

 _“Stop thinking about otters holding hands when they don’t want to be separated,”_ Phil hears Dan in his head and he looks at the him.

“ _But they’re so cute!”_

 _“Phil,”_ Dan scolds him, but he’s smiling.

Phil tries again and it’s seems to be working. A mild spring day pops into his head from when he was a kid and played outside. He imagines a field, with tall, uncut grass, wild flowers blossoming away. There’s a light breeze and the air smells like sunshine, rainbows and sweet pea. He is sitting on the ground and watching the clouds. He likes when the Sun shines through the holes of the clouds. He raises his hand to point at a cloud that looks like a balloon and suddenly there is a thin ray of light coming out the tip of his finger.

He opens his eyes; he’s no longer on the field, but in the void, still holding Dan’s hand. “ _Did you see that?”_

_“I did. It looked lovely. But Phil, you did it.”_

Phil breathes in, holding that breath, as he raises his hand again. He points to the side and there is indeed light coming out of his finger, shooting off into the distance. He laughs, feeling relieved. “ _I did it.”_ He fists his hand and looks back at Dan. “ _Let’s go back.”_

Phil feels once again overwhelmed as they come back to reality. Although he is no longer holding Dan’s hand, he really wants to so he keeps his hand close. “Look,” Dan says, watching the kitchen wall. Phil’s shadow is back, Dan’s theory seemed to work.

“Oh, thank God.”

Dan smiles, and Phil cannot help but notice a bit of sadness in Dan’s eyes. He doesn’t question it though, figuring it’s not really his place.

 

They have coffee and chat about nothing in particular. They talk about music and films, discussing their favourites. They also talk about anime and how much they both love it. Then, out of nowhere, Phil starts asking about Dan’s powers.

“So what do they do? The spirits.”

“Anything, really. It’s still a bit hazy, there’s so much to learn, but I know I have the semi-telepathy because of them. If I’m ever in a fight, they can shield me. Funnily, it’s the same with rain. They come in quite handy if I don’t have an umbrella.”

“Do you know what they are? Or where they come from?”

“Not really,” Dan sighs, putting his mug down. “I know they’re not souls, they have never been living things. They might be something from beyond or above or below, or any other religious place, but I don’t know. I guess I never will.” He drums on the table with his fingers, then picks up his mug again, and takes a sip. “We used to chat about this with Martha, but we never got anywhere. As far as I know, there’s no one else who has anything like this.”

“Okay, you keep mentioning my nan, what’s up with you two?”

Dan smiles, making his eyes wrinkle. “Honestly, I can’t believe it took for us this long to meet. She always talks about you, like seriously, never shuts up.” Dan talks about her with so much adoration, it warms Phil’s heart. “We had a common friend, so we got in touch after your grandma found out I had powers. So I went to visit her. It was an… adventure to say the least.”

“Let me guess, she chewed your ears off about books and then asked to list your favourite ones.”

“Yeah, then she talked about you and your brother. She loves you very much. Also, she would probably remind me to remind you to call her.”

“Yep, that too.” They both laugh.

 

After coffee and after he made sure his shadow is still there, Phil heads home. He stops to get some groceries as Dan asked, and he can’t help but splurge on sweets as well. He spends long minutes trying to pick what he wants, but deep down he knows he’s just putting off going back to his flat. He even thought about buying new clothes and never going back to that God forsaken place; however this idea quickly jumps out of the window. If he can be brave enough to go to a hidden basement with a guy he just met, he can go home.

Still, he’s a bit worried about the state of his flat. He slightly hesitates as he puts his key into the lock. He loves his plants, even the ones that are so very hard to maintain _._ Finally, he turns the key.

 _It’s not that bad,_ he thinks. Everything in the living room and kitchen are the same. Remotes on the coffee table, mugs washed. Everything is intact. The plants in there seem normal and healthy; there’s no chaos, no leaflets, damaged books on the floor. Phil puts the bags of groceries on the counter then walks to his bedroom. It’s still a mess in there, but at least the mess is unchanged.

The doors of his wardrobe are still open, half of the clothes are still on hangers. The other half is on the floor, covered with clothes and a thin layer of soil. He carefully lifts his pug button up and dusts it off. He then throws it into the blue laundry bin in the corner. He also picks up some of his books and puts them on the bed, but whatever he does, he does it so he doesn’t have to deal with the plants.

When he’s finished with cleaning the floor, he puts some clothes into a duffel bag, along with his toothbrush and his Kindle. He then sits on his bed, taking one long look around the bedroom.

In a way, he’s running away. He has a job, he needs to pay his rent and bills. He has enough money to stay afloat for a couple of months. _This is not permanent,_ he reminds himself. He knows he’ll get to come home when they sort out, well, everything.

He texts Dan that he’s ready. It’s not that late, but since it’s autumn, it’s dark outside. Within a minute, Dan messages him back, telling him to meet him at the same place as the day before.

 

How quickly things can change. Within a second, your world can turn upside down. With a single sentence or deed, your life could become something else.

These thoughts are going through Phil’s head as he walks towards the statue. He looks ridiculous among the drunk people tumbling past him; he’s carrying the duffel bag, a backpack with his laptop and other stuff that didn’t fit into the bag, and two bags of groceries. So the sight of Dan makes him feel relieved. To help with all the bags, of course.

“Thanks for meeting me,” Phil says, a bit out of breath.

“You would’ve gotten lost.” Dan takes the carrier bags. “Let’s go ho… back.”

Phil cannot help but smile. Home. For now, it’ll do.

 

They quickly settle into a routine, a nice routine. They still share the bed as there’s no room for another one, but Phil doesn’t mind. He’s actually happy that he gets to be so closed to Dan, although he tries not to think about this. As for the unexplained nothingness they go to whenever they touch, it also appears in their dreams if they happen to touch in their sleep. (Which, again, Phil tries to avoid, but he’s guilty as charged; that place seems to be like a drug.) In their dreams, it’s still a black void, but Phil can see what Dan dreams of. He knows that the younger boy often dreams about his parents and a happy childhood. Dan doesn’t seem to be aware of the fact that Phil knows this, or at least they don’t talk about it.

After waking up (which they do freakishly in sync), they spend a couple of minutes on their phones, not talking, until one of them tells the other to make coffee. At first, Dan is _outraged_ that Phil drinks his coffee with three sugars (sometimes four, even), but once he accepts it, he just silently makes the sugar with some coffee. They have breakfast while watching an episode or two of a recent anime, then spend the next 10 minutes analysing the plot.

Once all the mundane stuff is done, they usually spend the rest of their mornings trying to figure out Phil’s power and its limitations. It’s a slow process, but Dan wants to make sure they practice each little thing before moving onto the next. By the end of the first week, Phil can do the finger-sunlight thing in real life as well. It is hard at first, concentrating and emptying his mind at the same time, but once he’s got that, it’s a smooth ride. Whenever he wants to do something like that, he thinks about how he felt on that spring day.

During the second and third week, they practice shadow-moving, aka Operation “Phil becomes the Sun” (Dan’s words). Most of the time, it still seems to happen out of the blue, without Phil wanting it, but by the end of the week, he can control it, although for just a couple of seconds.

They spend most of their mornings practicing. After lunch and another episode of an anime or a TV show, they start digging for information. Dan reaches out to some people to see if they know anything, while Phil looks for people with powers online on forums and blogs looking for help. He’s also looking for any signs pointing to powers, but it’s difficult as most people are hiding. While it’s necessary, a month passes without actually finding out anything.

It’s a nice harmony. They fit well together, so it’s easy to do stuff. Sometimes they argue, but it’s quickly resolved with a joke and laughter. They soon become friends, not because they’re forced to be friendly, but because they actually enjoy each other’s company. They begin to finish each other’s sentences or guess what the other is thinking (admittedly, Dan has the advantage here).

Phil has kept up appearances. He took time off of work, saying that he needed some time to sort some stuff and his boss was nice enough to let him. He talked to his family, pretending he was working; he visited them every couple of weeks. His friends were a bit harder, demanding to see him. Phil just told them he wasn’t feeling well lately, and thankfully, without going into detail, they believed him. He also visited his nan, she was the only one who knew everything. They didn’t talk about it though, they just enjoyed each other’s company, discussing books, the weather, or crazy animals Phil saw.

“Hm,” Dan says loudly one afternoon during the second month. He’s sitting in Esther with a laptop on his lap, while Phil is on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He was talking to a girl from Scotland who was both a geneticist and can do astral projection. She’s been doing tests to figure out the cause of the superpowers, but she said it’s more complicated  than they believed. “Interesting.”

“You sound ominous. What’s up?”

“Remember the guy I was talking about? The weird dude in Jersey.”

“The one with the water manipulation? The biker?

“Yeah, Jack. Well, I talked to him again, he said he knows a man, Sean, in Liverpool who knows far more about everything.”

Phil sits up. He looks at Dan and opens his palm. A little ball of light is bouncing up and down; it’s a trick he learned not long ago and he usually he does this whenever he’s thinking. “That’s good. Maybe he knows someone who could cause the apocalypse.” Dan doesn’t answer. He looks worried. “That’s not it, is it?”

“The guy is extremely paranoid. He’s not online, he doesn’t talk to any of us, only Jack on the phone every once in awhile. Jack said he could convince the guy to meet us, but we’d need to go to Liverpool.”

In their current state, it’d be dangerous. Although Phil is getting better, his shadow still disappears and Dan’s spirits still pop up. It’d be risky to get on the train, where anything could happen. But, they’re stuck. This is the only information they’ve got in weeks. They can’t let this opportunity to go.

“Dan…” Phil says, but it’s enough to think about it.

“I know. We need to go.” They’re quiet. Phil closes his palm and the light disappears. He gets up to make coffee for himself and Dan. They need to come up with a plan. Then, an idea pops into Phil’s head. “What if we did a test run? I mean I’m usually the one to go out in daylight, but what if we had a trial?”

“What are you thinking?” Dan closes his laptop and looks at Phil.

“What if we went to see my nan? The two of us, in broad daylight.”

“I don’t know…”

“Hear me out.” Phil turns around to look at Dan. “She doesn’t live that far away. It’s only a bus ride and a short walk. We could go on a rainy day so people would have their umbrellas and stuff. We could hide underneath one too.”

“Hm.” Dan thinks for a second. “We’d need to do some planning, like  come up with places we could hide if something did happen, but…. That could work. She knows about us, so she wouldn’t freak out. As for the others in the home, well, they’re blind as bats.”

Phil laughs. “Wow, that’s dark, Dan, even for you.” Phil turns around to continue the coffees. He can hear Dan shuffling around and a moment later they’re standing next to each other. “Do you want something fancy or the same bitter stuff you drink everyday?”

“I don’t have time for fancy.”

Phil rolls his eyes. “There’s always time for a latte.”

Dan looks at Phil and smiles. His lines in the corners of his eyes crinkle; it’s like Dan put all of his soul into a single smile. It’s a smile worthy to fall in love with.

Phil feels there’s no reason to hide it anymore. These past months they’ve spent together were a bit of everything: a bit of arguing when neither of them wanted to get out of bed to make breakfast, a bit of happiness when they watched a funny video and laughed together, a bit of worry when Phil went outside to do some shopping and a bit of appreciation when someone did something nice for the other. Phil knows that there is some feeling towards Dan bubbling inside him. He also knows that Dan knows this, too.

“You know what? Make that latte.”

 

The actual visit happens two days later; it is a rainy day, the wettest  Manchester has seen in a while. They called Phil’s nan and asked her if they could go to her room, just in case. They stand close to each other (not quite touching, as that would probably trigger the void)  at the bus stop with Dan holding a huge umbrella. He keeps shifting from one foot to another, Phil notices, checking his phone every minute, and when the bus is 10 seconds late, he bites down on his lip, hard.

“It’s gonna be fine, Dan.”

“I know, it probably will. I haven’t been outside in broad daylight in a while.”

“Well, there’s no sunlight.”

“Don’t be a wise-ass.”

Phil smiles fondly. “Still, no need to be worried. Remember what you said to me when we met?” Dan looks up to him (Phil is still taller, especially when Dan slouches so he appears small and invisible). He doesn’t quite get it. “You said you understood. You said you’ve got me, with or without shadow.”

“You remember that?”

“You’d be surprised to know how much I know.” Phil didn’t want to add ‘about you’, that’d be too much like flirting. But then again, Dan probably knows. “Anyways, I’ve got you.” He wants to bump shoulders with Dan, but it’s not the place for that.

As Dan opens his mouth to say something, they see the bus, pulling into the stop.

 

The journey to the home is uneventful. For the first time, Phil doesn’t have his fears about his nan. Being close to Dan helps, and Phil is glad Dan knows that too.

Once inside the home, they’re greeted by the same girl Phil met two months ago. She smiles and says hello.

“Hi, we’re here to see Martha Cole, please,” Phil says. Dan is standing behind him, kind of hiding.

“Your names, please?”

Phil gives her their names and they each get the visitor sticker. The girl informs them that the residents are in the common room and lets them in.

His nan is sitting in her usual armchair, reading yet another book. She doesn’t notice them right away; her book seems to be more interesting. So when Phil walks up to her, she gets startled. He is vaguely aware that Dan is following him; for now, he’s focusing on his nan.

“I’m so sorry, nan.”

She smiles at him, eyes glistening. “It’s okay, dear, I was just…” she stops, noticing Dan. “Oh, Daniel, it’s so nice to see you again.”

“Hi, Martha,” he says; his voice is small and barely audible. He’s still scared and Phil doesn’t have to be a mindreader to know that.

“Nan, can we go to your room?” Phil asks quickly.

“Yes, yes, of course.” She stands up and leads them out of the common room, down a hall while telling them the gossip of the home. “I told Elma that Gert didn’t wink. He’s just got a bad eye, that old mouse. He’s blind as a bat.”

Dan smiles and leans close to Phil. “See, I told you. Everyone here is blind.”

“What’s that, sweetheart?” Martha asks Dan.

“Oh, I just…” Dan starts, but Phil silences him with a look.

“How’s the book I got you?” Phil asks quickly.

“It’s lovely, thank you. I’m enjoying it a lot.” She opens a door in the middle of the hallway and steps into the fairly big room. They are greeted by the blandness of the room; the beige curtains don’t help. Although she has a lovely, floral quilt and some greenery, they are not really enough to counterbalance the pale yellowness of the room. “Have a seat!” she says while pointing to two chairs. She sits down in a pale pink, worn out armchair.

As Dan and Phil each take a seat, Phil notices how his nan watches them with curiosity. There's a certain type of look in her eyes and although Phil can't quite tell what it is, he feels that seeing him and Dan, possibly together, makes her happy.

“How are you, Martha?” Dan asks, slightly relaxing.

“I'm good, dear, thanks for asking.” She smiles at them, but in the next second, her smile disappears. “Now, you said something about powers and a trip.”

“Yeah,” Phil says and sends a reaffirming look towards Dan. “I know I haven’t really told you what I can do. I don’t know why, to be honest.” Phil takes a deep breath. “The dream I had a couple of months ago, if you remember that. When I woke up, the plants went crazy. Well, Dan here saw a video of a girl who can shoot light out of her hand and he figured I can do the same.” He extends his hand and opens his palm.

Within seconds a little ball of light start bouncing up and down; his nan watches it with childlike excitement. “Oh, Phil, that’s wonderful!” They also show her Phil’s shadow bending abilities, to which she reacts the same. When Dan and Phil both sit down again, she looks at Dan. “What about you, Dan? You told me about the spirits, but I suspect there is something else.”

Dan and Phil share a look. They talked about showing her the void, although they’re not sure it would work. Phil thinks _might as well try_ , knowing Dan will know. “Yes, there is,” Dan answers finally. “If it works, it’ll be strange at first, but don’t let go of our hands, okay?”

Phil takes her right hand, Dan takes the other. _It’ll be okay,_ Phil thinks and after a slight hesitation, they link their fingers together, too.

Its effect is still overwhelming, yet comforting somehow. They are transported to a place where no bad or good exists, to a place of tranquility.

To their surprise, she is there with them. She looks around, eyes big, trying to find something. She opens her mouth to say something, but no voice leaves her throat.

 _It’s okay, nan,_ Phil says with a smile.

_I can hear you in my mind!_

_Yes, that’s one of the tricks of this place._

_It’s wonderful,_ she says.

They spend a couple more minutes in the void, letting her take it all in. They don’t speak, just enjoy the quietness and nothingness of it. Then, without even saying anything, they let go of each other at the same time.

“Oh, boys, it's fantastic!” she sighs when they return to reality. “I never knew people like us can share powers. Do you know what it is?”

“No and I…” Phil looks at Dan, with fondness in his eyes. “I wouldn't want to ruin the magic of it.”

She smiles at them for a second, then she stares in front of herself. The next moment she's back, however it was too short of a time for Dan and Phil to notice. “What about the trip?” she asks, suddenly sounding very frail.

So they tell her about it. It's mainly Dan who talks, with Phil filling in some gaps. They tell her about the guy in Jersey and the paranoid one in Liverpool and how they have to take that risk. They tell her that the trip is scheduled for the next week.

“I don't know anything about this lad, but if you say he only speaks with that man in Jersey, it's not surprising. What did you say your friend’s name was?”

“Jack something,” Dan says.

“Jack, Jersey, water.” She thinks for a second, then smiles. “I know him, he visited Edna once. Good lad, you can trust him. If he says he knows a guy, he does indeed. ”

Dan nods. With a single look, Phil knows that he's still worried.

“Dan, would you mind if I went on a walk with nan? Alone.”

“Sure.” Dan takes his phone out and a moment later he's elsewhere.

Phil leads Martha out of the room. He holds out his arm and with a girlish giggle she links hers into it. “Always such a gentleman. Your mam did a very good job with you boys.” Phil smiles, but doesn't reply. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Dan. He worries all the time. He’s barely left his basement in the past two years. Always did his shopping late at night, barely met anyone in real life. Sometimes it seems like he's forgotten how to be a human outside of those walls.”

“Phil, can I ask you a question?” They are walking down the corridor leading to the garden. “Is living with Dan a burden?”

“No, of course not. I…” There's so much Phil wants to say. How could he describe what Dan is? He likes spending every minute with him. It’s easy, it’s comfortable. Sure, there are times when they annoy each other to death, but those times are nothing compared to all of the other positive things. Although Phil wouldn’t really admit, but Dan is one of his pillars, his safespace, his home, despite only knowing him for a couple of months.

“It’s okay, Phil.” She squeezes his hand. “You know… I had something like this when I was young. It was after the war. I was walking home from school and the year was almost done. I was around 10, although I can’t remember.” She smiles as she tries to recall the dear memory. “I bumped into a boy eating ice cream. Some of it got on my dress, but it was mostly fine. He apologised and without a second thought, he gave me the rest of his ice cream. Then I noticed that his shoes were worn and his trousers ragged. He spent all his money on that ice cream, the money he has been gathering for days, if not weeks. But he gave it to me.”

They reach the door leading into the garden. It’s almost Christmas and she doesn’t have a coat on. “Let’s head back,” Phil says and they turn around, but she keeps going with the story.

“I asked for his name and kept him in my mind. When I turned 18, I tracked him down. He had a job by then, but his living conditions were horrible, to say the least. But I remembered, I always remembered him as the boy who gave me his ice cream. We started talking and two weeks later I was married to your granddad.”

Phil suddenly stops, looking at her with surprise. “I thought you met him at work.”

“Well, sometimes I had to beautify the story a bit. I wanted to tell you the story as it really happened because,” she smiles and takes Phil’s hands, “you had to know. When you love someone, you don’t care how they look or what their circumstances are. You love them because they’re them. Don’t let that boy go, you hear me? Hold him close.”

They walk back to her room; she’s talking about some community event, but he’s not listening. Phil is walking next to his nan, but he’s somewhere else. In his mind, he is back in Dan’s basement, lying in bed as Dan makes coffee and breakfast.

Phil is checking the news. Dan is busy in the kitchen. In fact, after a couple of days, Dan stopped asking how Phil likes his coffee or takes his eggs. It was just a simple gesture, and although remembering black with two sugars is not the biggest thing, it still means a lot for him. Maybe Martha is right. No, of course he knows she’s right. Dan’s one of the best things that ever happened to Phil. Of course he’s gonna love him. Love is not always this grandiose thing, like getting a hot air balloon and confessing neverending love at sunset. It can be small, like knowing that if the other has a headache, they need a glass of apple juice, painkillers and marshmallows.

Love, funnily, can also be working together, trying to prevent the apocalypse.

As they reach her room, Phil empties his mind. It’s hard, the thoughts of loving Dan are always there, but he tries his best. They do need to have a talk about this, Phil doesn’t want to be one of those fools who let their chance go because they were afraid of the consequences. He _needs_ those consequences, good or bad.

They soon say their goodbyes; Phil’s nan wishes them good luck and gives them a hug. As she hugs Phil, she whispers to him, “Invite him for Christmas. It will be nice.”

 

On the way home, they don’t talk, they each have enough to think about. Phil is trying to digest what he talked about with his nan without actually focusing on it too much in case Dan is listening. However, this proves to be harder than he would’ve thought, so instead he just stares out the window, imagining their trip to Liverpool.

It’s a risky trip, with things they can’t foresee, but it’s something they have to do. The stress keeps Phil up at night and he knows Dan’s the same. He often finds him sitting in that godforsaken beanbag, on his laptop. Phil would tell him to come to bed, but Dan just grumbles something quietly and Phil knows it’s best to drop it. _It’ll be okay_ , Phil keeps saying that as a mantra; it’s for Dan, too. _Nothing will go wrong._

“Should we pick up some food on the way home?” Dan asks out of the blue. Phil looks at him, surprised. Seems like Dan feels brave enough to go into the shop in broad daylight. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like that. Feeling sorry for me.”

“I-I-I don’t…” Phil stutters, but he knows there’s no reason to play innocent. “Look, like a minute ago, you were scared to be outside. Now you want to, what? Go into Asda and get microwave curry?”

“Well, I was thinking chow mein, but if you want curry, sure.” Phil gives him another look, but this time he sends a mental note along with that. _I hate you._ Dan laughs. “I can feel that. You were right, I’m done being scared. Who knows what will happen tomorrow or in Liverpool. I want to live my life outside and not hiding in that cave and wasting whatever life I have left. I’m done being scared,” he repeats and this time he’s even more sure of himself.

“Alright, let’s get that chow mein.”

They get off at their stop, but instead of heading home, they go the opposite direction. As they step into the store, Phil can feel Dan tensing up. He wants to reach out to him, to provide a comforting hand on his shoulder. Then, he realises he can’t.

“I don’t even remember what Asda looks like.”

“How did you get your groceries, then? You never answered that question.”

Dan grabs some bananas and puts them into the basket Phil is holding. “I can’t believe you’re still thinking about that.” He reaches for a pack of strawberries, but Phil grabs it from him.

“I’ll give it back, if you answer me.”

“Alright, fine. I have a… little elf, let’s just say that. I’d do my online shopping, the stuff would be delivered to his place and I would collect it at 3 am. I’d get my groceries, he’d get £20 for keeping quiet. End of story.”

“What about the money?” Dan looks away. “I can’t believe I never asked about that.”

“You didn’t have to. You don’t have to, now.”

“Why?”

Dan takes the strawberries from Phil and puts them in the basket, then he starts walking towards the ready meals. “I’ve done things and they’re not very… legal.” He stops in front of the Chinese section and takes in his options. “They were pretty shitty, but I could pay for food at least.”

“Okay,” Phil says. Over the past couple of months he’s learned to accept Dan and whatever he had to do to survive. “Can we get spring rolls?”

“Way ahead of you.”

 

Despite Dan’s worries, everything goes smoothly, without a single incident. As they’re walking home, Phil’s pretty sure Dan is overthinking it; he is probably so preoccupied with worrying that his power stays dormant. In fact, Phil is so concerned about Dan, that his power also stays quiet. They are just Dan and Phil, a couple of normal people, not people with superpowers.

 _They are just Dan and Phil._ That thought keeps going through Phil’s head; he can’t even worry about Dan hearing it, he’s past that.. Without doubt, they fit together perfectly. The void they go through is just a proof of that; it’s simple, easy, there are no second guessing. He almost always has trouble making up his mind about something important: university, jobs, where to move, what to be as an adult. But not Dan. He’s always been sure about him. Sure, there’s this thing called “friendship”, but Phil knows that what they have goes beyond that. It’s a pure and raw connection that lies so deep within them, it somehow became an instinct. They have the connection through the void when they touch, but they also share something else outside of it.

“Phil…” Dan whispers as they are walking down the street towards their home. It’s late afternoon, not pitch black though, so they can see each other fairly well. They will have no problem sneaking into their basement. “Please.”

Phil knows he knows. There’s so much put into that ‘please’. Please, tell me. Please, don’t. Please, save yourself, I’m not worth the trouble. He knows Dan is thinking all of these.

“We have to,” Phil says. Dan gives no answer, he just looks away.

As they climb down the ladder, Phil realises he only has two things to ask. He tries to hide it, he doesn’t want to do it while climbing into an underground hole. Dan closes the door and takes his time to lock it. He’s avoiding Phil, and Phil knows that. But he’s not giving up.

Phil is putting away the biscuits by the time Dan reaches the kitchen. They are quiet, the computers are the only thing making a noise. It seems as if time had stopped for them. They are doing their things, packing and stocking the shelves. For the first time, the silence is uncomfortable. Phil’s never understood the phrase ‘the silence is deafening’ until now. He wants to speak up, but at the same time he’s worried he’d scare Dan away.

Dan is the first to finish. He sits in his office chair and watches Phil, who is still putting things away, ever so slowly. He’s taking his time with the bottles of Ribena. He wants to have this talk, because they need to in order to keep functioning, but at the same time, he needs to make sure he’s not putting too much pressure on Dan. Coming up with the exact words he needs to say proves to be difficult.

“Say it,” Dan says plainly.

Phil turns around to look at him and leans against the counter. “Why?”

“Because I don’t know what’s going to happen. My power, the spirits, could be eating me up as we speak. I can’t just go and live a life, pretending that everything’s fine.” He stands up, his anger seems to be coming forward. “Because I am _not_ normal. Because I could never be normal. You’d never get a moment of privacy.”

“But I’m willing to accept it!”

“You can’t! I don’t want you to!” Dan is now yelling.

“Why? Why are you so afraid of being happy?” Phil raises his voice too.

“Because it could hurt you!” Dan says and with that, his spirits pop up. Blackness covers most of the room, levitating above Dan, watching over him. Phil is surprised by them and involuntarily takes a step back. Dan sighs. “That’s exactly why. That reaction there. I would _never_ want to hurt you.”

Phil wants to say something, but Dan raises his hand. He concentrates for a few seconds and then the spirits are gone. “Dan…”

Dan sits back on the chair, and looks at Phil. His eyes are filled with tears. Phil takes the other seat, sitting close to Dan, but not quite touching. “Do you know how frightening it is? Those spirits. I don’t care if they hurt me, but if they hurt you.. We still don’t know the long-term consequences. It could be an instinct, their instinct. I wish I could. If I have to give up on us to protect you, then so be it.”

“Dan.” Phil extends his hand and places it above Dan’s, not quite touching, but he can still feel his body heat. “I don’t care, okay? I never have.” He takes a deep breath, a sort of “fuck it” moment. “I’m going to say something, I might be blowing it out of proportion, but here it goes. You took me in. This could’ve ended much worse. We’re better off together and you know that. I just have… I just have so much love for you in my heart, and I want you to know that. But if you say not giving this a shot is the best option, then yeah, so be it.”

Phil stands up, adamant to… give Dan some space? To go for a walk? To move back home? Figuring that out can wait, for now he needs to go, so he goes to the wardrobe to get some of his clothes.

“Phil,” Dan says, standing behind him. “Look at me.” Phil turns around, but doesn’t look at Dan. He can’t look at those eyes and not be in love with him. He might’ve wanted to take this easy, but that jumped out the window long ago. “I know what you’re saying, the emotional side of me wants that. But the rational side says that you’d be at risk and I don’t want that.” Phil wants to protest, but Dan stops him. “Look, I know. It’s a fucked up situation, but… I don’t want you to go.”

“Dan, I accept whatever risk comes with you. Your spirits, the mindreading, that’s all in the package. That’s all you. And I want you,” Phil says, finally looking at him.

They spend long seconds of looking at each other. It’s ridiculous, really, those stuff only happens in romcoms. But there’s so many things unsaid beneath the surface. Phil’s sure they could make this work, because it’s only Dan overthinking it. He knows everything would be fine, just as everything was fine at the care home and the shop. Sometimes he wishes he could see into Dan’s head, too.

Dan’s the first one to break the silence. “Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I kiss you?”

But he doesn’t wait for Phil’s answer, it was more just a courtesy. He already knows his answer, just as Phil knew what he was going to ask. Maybe he can read Dan’s mind, or maybe he just knows him well.

When their lips touch, the basement seems to explode. When they touch, they go to a colourless, soundless nothing; but when they kiss, that blackness transforms itself into the most beautiful colours of the universe. His eyes are closed, but Phil _knows_ it’s there. It’s corny, yes, but it’s true. As if their secret universe was waiting for this to show its true colours.

Being this close to Dan warms his insides. He feels such happiness and tranquillity he's never felt before. It seems, through this kiss, his feelings got enhanced. He did say that he has feelings for Dan and he meant it.

 _“Stop thinking,”_ Dan says in his head and although he doesn't have to, he pulls away. He still has his hand on the back of Phil's neck, so the colourful universe transforms itself back into the black void. _“Just kiss me, you spoon.”_

And Phil does, with so much tenacity and passion, it could rip a hole in the time-space continuum. He puts his hand on Dan’s face, pulling him closer. He never wants to let him go, they could go on like this forever. It's the perfect kiss; passionate, but loving and patient, yet needy. He needs Dan more than he needs air.

Dan’s the first to pull away; one minute they're in the most beautiful pocket of the universe, the next they're standing in Dan’s basement.

“Wow,” that's all Phil says. Although he would like to say more, Dan literally took his words away.

“Yeah.” Dan looks away, suddenly very shy and bashful about the whole situation. He starts fidgeting with some papers lying on the table.

“Dan, if you’re uncomfortable with this, we can just…”

“What? Pretend that wasn’t the best fucking kiss of my life?”

“Are you gonna say the usual ‘oh, this will ruin our relationship and oh, what if we can’t focus on the task at hand’ bit? Cause I’d rather not hear that so can we skip that, please?” Dan doesn’t answer, but turns away with his whole body. Phil takes a deep breath and briefly considers getting a paper to smack him on the head. Instead, he walks closer, almost touching Dan’s back. “We’ll be fine. I don’t care, okay? I meant it, even if you don’t believe me, but I’ll repeat it, just in case: I have so much love for you in my heart.” Dan wants to say something, but Phil interrupts him. “I know that it’s too much pressure on you, but please, don’t just say ‘that’s bullshit’ or something. Let me have this.”

After slight consideration, Dan nods and pushes back against Phil. As they touch they’re transported into the void. Phil hugs Dan, pulling him as close as possible.

 

Before their trip, they spend even more time planning. Dan is worried about the variables and Phil’s worried about him. He can see that Dan is stressing himself out, which causes him to lose focus occasionally and have his spirits appear.

At first, he gets rid of them within seconds, but as the day nears, the black clouds stick around. The most worrisome of it all is that, from time to time, Phil catches Dan talking to the spirits. It would be fine, but if Dan thinks about something upsetting or imagines a bad outcome, the spirits will start acting weirdly, knocking mugs off the table or rustling papers. Phil knows it’s not Dan’s fault, but it does get spooky.

“Come to bed,” Phil says at 3 am, a couple of hours before their trip. He went to bed around midnight, but when he wakes up in the middle of the night, Dan’s still sitting in Esther.

“I can’t… I need to-”

“Dan.” He pats the bed. “Come on.”

Dan sighs. For a second, Phil thinks he’s just gonna flip him off, but then he closes his laptop and gets up. As he walks to the bed, he gets rid of his shirt and jeans, and lies next to Phil. “I hate you,” he says, but without protest he crawls into Phil’s arms.

Once again, they’re transported into the void, just floating there. Since Phil can hear Dan’s thoughts, he can also see the chaos in his head.

“ _Dan, it’ll be fine._ ”

“ _How can you be so sure?_ ” he asks, as he further cuddles into Phil.

“ _Because worrying won’t do any good. We need to do this, Dan. This is the first real clue and we would be stuck without it. I don’t want to live underground for the rest of my life, waiting for an apocalypse to happen._ ”

“ _No, I know what you’re saying. But how do you know that your shadow won’t disappear? Or my spirits come out?”_

“ _How often do you notice someone’s shadow? As for your spirits, well, we’ll just wing it._ ” Dan stays quiet. Phil knows he’s just frightened. He kisses the top of his head as he murmurs soothing words. “ _We’ll be fine. Afterwards, we can come home, and stay in bed for two days straight while stuffing our faces with popcorn and sweets and we’ll watch some anime. We’ll be fine._ ”

Dan nods. “ _Let’s sleep, it’ll be a long day._ ”

But, in reality, neither of them fall asleep for a long time.

 

Their train is at midday; the meeting is at 5. The first part of their trip, getting to the train station, goes without a hitch. Both the station and the train are crowded, a prime spot for trouble, but they get to Liverpool without any incident.

Thankfully, Jack managed to convince to guy to have the meeting at his house. He lives in southeast of the city centre, in a less populated area. Dan and Phil decide to take a taxi there; as it turns out, however, the driver refuses to take them into that street. Instead, he drops them off outside a Tesco and tells them they need to walk the rest of the way.

“What a jerk,” Dan says, but as they walk deeper into that part of the city, they can see why.

The street where Dan lives is posh compared to this one. People are drinking and taking drugs in daylight while watching others fight. Dan and Phil start walking faster, trying to find the house as quickly as possible.

“Oh look, what we have hear!” a man with a thick Scouse accent shouts from his front garden “Two rich little boys, wanderin’ down on a street they shouldn’t be on.”

Dan and Phil ignore him, and keep on walking. “I’m so creeped out,” Phil says as they leave the man behind. “Let’s find our guy.”

As it turns out, his house is the only one that looks somewhat nice. Apart from the windows boarded up and protected with bars, it looks decent. Or maybe it’s because it’s getting darker by the minute and there are only a couple of street lights. A tall concrete fence surrounds the property with security cameras wherever they look. Dan and Phil have no doubt the man can see them.

Dan presses the bell; after three, short shrieks (that’s the best adjective to describe it, it sounds more like a scream than ringing), a voice says. “Who are youse?”

“Uh, hi, we’re Dan and Phil, Jack’s friends,” Dan says.

“I don’t know any Jack.”

Dan and Phil share look. “Jack from Jersey. He said you two are friends. You went to school together, didn’t you? He used to live in Liverpool.” Dan takes a deep breath. “We, uh… We know you have some sort of power. We do too. If you let us, we can show you.”

Silence on the other side. Phil wants to say something just as the guy opens the gate.

He’s not what they expected him to be. He’s small, looks like a teenager. He looks as if the wind could blow him away. “Who else knows youse are here?”

“Only Jack,” Phil says.

“You said ye have powers?” They nod. They agreed that Phil would show his first, as his is less threatening. He opens his palm to show the light bouncing in his palm. It only lasts a couple of seconds; after that he pockets his hand. “I’m Sean. Come in.”

All the curtains are closed and there are barely any lights. The inside doesn’t match the somewhat decent looking outside. It’s messy and overcrowded with stuff, to say the least and it smells. _Oh, the stench,_ Phil thinks, knowing that Dan can hear it. He doesn’t want to be rude and cover his nose, but he just can’t take it.

Sean doesn’t invite them further inside. They’re standing in a hallway as he closes the front door. “So, uh…” Dan starts. Phil takes a look at him; his eyes are glowing, although they seem to be brighter than usually are. “I’m not sure if Jack told you why we wanted to talk to you.”

“No, he didn’t.” Sean blocks their way into the living room. “What’s ye power?” he asks Dan.

“Well, Phil’s is light manipulation. Mine is telepathy and…” Sean takes a couple of steps back.

“Don’t come close!” he shouts. “Youse are buzzies, aren’t ye?”

“No, we’re not, we’re just looking for answers,” Phil says, lifting his hand. _This is bad, we don’t know what his powers are, this could end badly,_ he thinks.

“Sean, it’s okay,” Dan joins in too. “See my eyes? Aren’t they cool?”

“Fock off!” Dan’s eyes are getting brighter and starting to pulsate, as if some threat is coming and it’s trying to warn them. “You come bargin’ into me home and askin’ questions. You won’t have nuthin’ on me.”

“Sean, we don’t want to cause you any trouble, I promise,” Dan says in his calming voice. “Phil had a dream a couple of months ago, we would like to ask question about…”

“I said no questions!”

It happens in an instant. One second everything is fine, the next, it’s chaos. The room, the house, the part of the city just seems to… explode. Vanish. There is a sudden, bright light followed by a deafening boom and everything is gone.

It comes like an instinct for Dan, as if he’s not the one doing it. He throws an arm around Phil, pulling him close. His spirits appear, forming a protective bubble around the two of them, lifting them into the air. For once, they don’t go to the void, they stay in the real world. At first, they don’t even seem to realise what is happening, it’s a shock to their minds as well.

The source of chaos? Sean.

Everything and everyone is gone near them, roads, trees, houses. Everything. It’s clear to see where the epicentre of it is: directly beneath them, where Sean was standing not a minute ago. It’s pitch black. The lights of skyscrapers and building are on, but they are the only thing left. Then, a moment later they disappear, too. It looks like a tornado that swept through the city, leaving nothing and no one behind.

There are fires where gas pipes have burst and fountains of water where water pipes used to be. Those brightly burning and very threatening fires are the only source of light, but there’s none in their vicinity. Sirens are starting to be heard in the distance, but there is no telling how far they have to come.

“What the hell happened?” Phil asks, still levitating three meters above ground.

“His anger must have overloaded his system and…” Dan stops. They both know what happened, who caused all of this. “If it’s safe, please, put us down,” he says to the spirits. A moment passes, then they start sinking.

“Jesus…” Phil says when they touch ground. Now, up close, it’s even worse.

They’re standing where the hallway is. Well, used to be. Now, there’s mud and rubble, the remnants of a life. Phil doesn’t even want to think about what happened to Sean. Instead, he looks around: there are no confused people looking for answers or injured people looking for help. Life was sucked out of this place.

“We gotta go, Phil.”

“Dan, we can’t!” They need to figure out what happened or look for survivors.

“Well, there are none!” Dan shouts, reading Phil’s thoughts, then walks away from him.

Phil stands there, shocked, but he has no time to deal with Dan. He knows he’s scared, but so is Phil. They need to access the situation, get as much information as possible. They lost the last clue they had.

He looks around for a place to start. The explosion seemed to wipe away everything. The man who shouted after them not that long ago is dead. The road where the taxi driver dropped them off is gone, with all the stores and the people. There will be casualties, a lot of them. All because of one man. _Well, that’s not true,_ Phil thinks. _All because of us._

He shakes his head. As horrible as it sounds, the guilt can wait.

Phil crouches and takes his phone out of his pocket, turning the flashlight on, hoping to see a piece of paper. But there’s nothing, only debris. Some of the bricks are in one piece, but most are just fragments of what they used to be. The same can be said about the other houses as well.

As he’s moving the bits and pieces aside, he sees the leaf of a houseplant beneath all the rubble. A voice in his subconscious whispers him to touch it, and without thinking about it, he does. The leaf is small and torn, but as Phil touches it, suddenly everything changes. Somehow, he’s able to access the memories of the dead plant, through its remnants.

It shows him the exact moment of the explosion, in slow motion, so he can see it, feel it, understand it. He can see the three of them, standing inside the house, with the plant to the side. A second later, Sean throws his arms out and a light starts growing in his chest, spreading through his body, till he’s engulfed in it. Then it just rips him apart, with a horrifying crackling sound, the sort you hear around electrical transformers. But, as he’s being torn apart, it also spreads, out the door, the walls, to everywhere. Opposite him are Dan and Phil, protected by a translucent black ball, and as the house around them disappears, they are lifted into the air.

The house falls to pieces, but the force of the explosion doesn’t stop. It keeps going, until Phil can’t see where it ends. It all happens so quickly and powerfully, that by the time the leaf reaches the ground, all the houses are gone.

As Phil comes out of the memory, the shock causes him to fall. He’s just sitting on the cold ground, overwhelmed both by the memory and his newly found power.

“Dan,” he says quietly, but he doesn’t want to hear. “Dan!” This time, he shouts. Dan turns around and when he sees Phil’s on the ground he runs to him. “I’m okay, I’m okay.” Dan pulls him up. “Okay, listen,” he starts, but instead he just thinks about what he saw.

Dan’s eyes go wide as he reaches the end of the memory. “He must’ve had some sort of electrical power, although we won’t know what it was exactly. So what? He was like a transformer, got overfilled with electricity and that caused the explosion.” He closes his eyes. “We need to go, the police can’t find us here.”

 

Dan and Phil have to walk about a mile to get away from all the damage. They try to be casual, but it’s impossible among crowds of terrified people calling their loved ones or people running away from the explosion. It’s still dark, the power grid of the city seems to be dead. The lights of the cars provide enough light for the people to get around. They should be worried about Dan’s eyes, but there’s no time for that. As they get further and further away from the epicentre, the destruction gets less and less. They want to help, but instead just blend into a crowd of people running away.

The news is hard to miss. The situation is chaotic; people are trying to get some news from radios, but the explosion seems to have caused radio towers to black out as well. Others are going around shouting the news they read on their phones, but from the swear words, Phil can tell that the phone reception is dodgy, too.  But the few that get reception yell that emergency services cannot get to the scene quickly, so they had to deploy helicopters and people are approaching on foot. One voice says, “While it’s early to say, numbers could be in thousands.” Dan and Phil look at each other, heart sinking, as they continue to make their way to the train station.

They don’t talk, don’t want to be overheard. They manage to get to the station along with thousands of others, but there are no trains. The power outage won’t be restored for a while, so they’re stuck at Liverpool Lime Street. The whole station is dark, apart from cars outside the building, some lights run by generators and phone’s torches. Dan’s becoming aware of his eyes and the fact that people might notice them, so he looks at his shoes.

They are standing in the crowds of people, waiting for some sort of announcement. Being this close to them, they can hear theories.

“Terrorism,” says a couple of people.

“Gas leak,” say others.

 _“Dan, do you think we’re safe?_ ” Phil thinks. Dan’s clearly worried, his mind keeps going. “ _As in us, our kind._ ”

“Phil,” Dan says leaning close to him. They’ve touched several times, either by accident or on purpose to make sure the other is there, yet they managed to stay in the real world. “There’s no our kind. With this, the secret is out.”

Phil knows it’s just the fear talking. There’s no way authorities would link the two together. As far as they know, no one up there knows anything about powers. “Why are you always so pessimistic? I know that you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared,” Dan says through gritted teeth.

“You are and that’s okay. All I’m saying is that there’s no way they can link it to us.”

Dan looks at Phil, almost begging. He’s begging for certainty, begging for hope. Phil cannot offer him those, no matter how much he wants it. He wishes he could say the perfect thing to ease his mind, but the truth is, somewhere deep he knows this mind be the end for them.

“That destruction, Phil… It was horrible. I can’t help thinking about those people who died. Even that guy who called after us. Especially him. Putting a face to what we…”

Phil stops him. “Quiet.” He looks around, but no one is paying attention to them. They are just two of the hundreds, if not thousands, of people trying to leave Liverpool. “Check your phone, anything on the news?”

While Dan does so, Phil eavesdrops in on a conversation between a couple.

“I’ve heard a guy did this, some lunatic,” the girl says.

“What lunatic?”

“Apparently he was building some electromagnetic bomb but it went sideways. Half of the city’s power is dead.”

“Come on, there’s no such thing!”

“Liam, don’t be daft. Of course there are, and we saw that today. The whole city did.”

Dan calls out his name softly and Phil looks at him, but the conversation is still in his head. They know about Sean, or at least his power, even if they didn’t know _he_ was the bomb. “Emergency services are there, they managed to find Sean’s house and currently investigating it. They’re talking about Sean, but not his power.”

Phil nods, feeling lightheaded. “Dan…”

“I know.” And Dan does, not because he read his mind, but because he’s going through the same. He feels his anxiety, his worry and he knows that something might be coming. Did they stop the apocalypse? Maybe the one Phil saw, but not the destruction of half of Liverpool. “We need to get home.”

“Trains are cancelled, buses will be full, if they're running at all, I can guarantee that.” _It’d be nice if we could call my parents,_ Phil thinks.

“Well, why not?”

Phil stares at him. “No way. Are you ready for the question? ‘What were you doing in Liverpool? How did you meet? Are you dating? _Who are you, Dan?’_ Cause I don’t think this is the right time to deal with it.”

Dan nods. He continues reading the news to Phil. “The power outage was in mostly in Liverpool city centre, but outer regions seem to fine. The exact number of casualties are unknown but it affected the southeast side of the city and also the airport. The destruction is about a mile wide, uh, yadda-yadda, they’re talking about police investigating, the usual stuff.” Dan locks and pockets his phone. “I wanted to call Jack, but the signal is dodgy, so we’ll talk to him later.” He looks at his shoes again.

“So what now? There’s no way out of here,” Phil says with a sigh.

“We could walk?” Phil sends him a not-so-nice thought. “Yeah, well, we’re out of ideas.”

Phil looks around. There are thousands of people squashed together inside the building and he’s pretty sure there are loads outside of it as well. Everyone is shaken to the core; a lot of them have lost members of their families and friends. They lost someone they loved and cared about because two people decided to ask questions. They didn’t see that coming, they couldn’t have. Sure, they could’ve asked about his power, but it’s too late now. He knows people died. He knows that parts of the city were destroyed.

Maybe they stopped one kind of apocalypse, but something else happened, something equally terrible. The way the earth shook beneath them, the sound of the explosion will always haunt Phil.

“Okay, everyone, if you could be quiet, please!” A middle-aged police officer stands on one of the benches, looking at the crowd. He’s talking loudly, not yelling, but suddenly everyone stops talking, anxiously waiting for some good news. “As you all know, there was an attack this afternoon in Toxteth. The incident is currently under investigation, so I can’t tell you anything specific just yet. People are also currently working on restoring the power, but unfortunately this won’t be for a while.” He checks his watch and quickly says something a guy who walks away.  “We will turn off the lights for a few minutes as we need to use the radio and the loudspeakers and running both would overwork the generator. The Prime Minister will be giving a speech any second now.”

He jumps off of the bench.

“I thought the radios aren’t working,” a man says somewhere in Phil’s vicinity.

The lights go out, people start talking again, but soon after, PM’s voice can be heard through the speakers.

“Liverpool witnessed a terrible tragedy today. Many lives were lost in the accident which devastated the Toxteth area of the city. I would like to seize this opportunity to express my condolences. My heart goes out to anyone affected by the incident. I hope…”

The broadcast suddenly stops. There’s an eerie silence followed by loud static noise. As people start moving around, anxiously trying to find out what is going on, Phil can see that the staff disconnected the radio and the speakers from the generator and are trying to figure out what happened to the broadcast. Then, a second later, a new voice can be heard. Through the turned off speakers.

“People of United Kingdom,” a guy says, his distorted voice echoing. “As you heard our beloved PM say, it was a terrible tragedy. But it was no accident.” The police officer starts yelling to turn the speakers off, but the staff are just scratching their heads. “A few of you already know, but most  are in the shadows. We are the Enlightenment. We spread the truth. There are humans among you who are capable of things beyond your wildest dreams.” Dan and Phil share a look. They know what’s coming. “These people are everywhere. Standing next to you on the train, your cashier in your favourite chipshop. Even your child. These people can manipulate weather, read minds, predict the future. What you saw today was not an accident. Someone with a power did this. And they could be standing next to you right now.” _Oh, shit. This is gonna end badly,_ Phil thinks. “These people are dangerous. They can and will cause you harm and therefore should not be trusted. Even if they’re your loved ones.”

“We have to get out,” Phil whispers to Dan.

“If we do, we’ll look suspicious.”

“They are mentally unstable,” the extremist guy continues, “not willing to keep peace and, as seen today, will kill thousands of people.”

“I can’t take this,” Dan says. As Phil looks at him, he sees tears in his eyes. “We’re doomed. This was a fucking bad idea.”

Phil closes his eyes, tuning out both Dan’s monologue about how much threat they’re in and the extremist’s voice. In his mind, he goes back to his first day in the basement. He concentrates how he felt when they discovered the void. He remembers the peacefulness of it and how he thought nothing would ever go bad. He thinks about seeing Dan, floating in the blackness and how beautiful he looked.

Looking back, Phil feels like he was lost before he met Dan. It’s not about his power, but when he bumped into Dan, he found meaning. He found a place where he could be who he really is without being judged. He found a home he didn’t know existed. He thinks about all the training he went through with Dan, then begins wondering what would’ve happened if he never met him. He now has control over his power, but it’s still waiting to be fully explored.

He opens his eyes as he realises what he has to do. It’s not about seeing the future, although he suspects some of his nan’s power might be inside him. He just knows what he has to do to bring peace.

“Dan,” Phil says quietly, but Dan still hears him. The extremist is still going on about gathering the people with powers, but he tunes him out again. “Do you trust me?”

“You know I do, but I heard what you’re thinking. And it’s stupid.”

“Well, if you did, you know what’ll most likely happen. Just please, trust me.” After slight hesitation, Dan nods. Phil grabs his hand and begins pulling him through the crowd. How they manage to stay in the real world, it’s a mystery to them, but it can wait for later. As they go through the crowd, pushing them aside, Phil wonders how many of them have powers, known or unknown. He knows he needs to do this, _they_ need to do this together. It’s here and now, because otherwise, it might be too late. Phil takes a deep breath. _Dan? I love you,_ he thinks, not even looking at him. Dan just squeezes his hand, but lets it go when they stand  in front of the police officer. “Hi, I um…”

“I’m sorry, sirs, little busy here,” he says as they’re still trying to turn off the speakers. Only then Phil realises that whoever keeps them turned on, probably has powers. But that thought can wait too.

“I know, but this is urgent. We know what happened today.”

 

As soon as Phil announced it, the officer, Sergeant Wilcox, started asking questions, but Phil said they wanted to speak to the highest ranking officer. Wilcox didn’t believe them right away, but Phil convinced him by telling him the address where it happened, knowing well enough that the police already found the source of the detonation.

Twenty minutes later, they’re sitting in a corner office on the fourth floor. After saying it, they were ushered outside, into a police car and rushed through the city, through traffic jams to the headquarters of Merseyside Police. There they were shown to the office and were told that the Chief Constable would be with them shortly.

“Are you sure about this?” Dan asks for the umpteenth time.

“We don’t have any other choice. That extremist guy was talking about violence against us and using physical force. I’d rather we went down on the diplomatic route. This is the best option we have.”

Dan nods. From their chairs, they can see the gridlock beneath them. This accident immobilised the whole city; they had trouble getting through the traffic jam and they were in a police car with sirens on. “About the other thing…” Dan starts, but doesn’t look at Phil. He sighs. It wasn’t the right place and time to say it, but he had to. “I know that and trust me, if…”

He can’t finish, because the Chief Constable opens the door, holding a document in his hand. _His salt-and-pepper hair will have more grey in it after today, that’s sure,_ Phil thinks. “Mr Howell, Mr Lester.” Dan and Phil stand up and shake his hand. “I’m Chief Constable Owen Lewis. Please, have a seat.” The three of them sit down. Lewis takes out a notepad and a pen, then looks at them, eyes full of questions. “So let’s begin with the address. How  did you know about it? There is a complete DA-Notice for the exact details and…”

“We were there,” Phil says. “We went to visit a… friend and the source of the explosion was there.”

“How did you survive it? We cordoned it off and as far as we know within half a mile at least, everyone is dead.” Phil is about to tell the truth, when the door opens again. This time a middle-aged woman comes in; her posture radiates power. “Ma’am,” Lewis says, standing up. “I just began the questioning and I…”

“It’s alright, Chief Constable Lewis. Would you give us the room, please?” she says, her voice soft, yet strong.

“Ma’am, I don’t think…”

“Please. And leave the document, if you will. Thank you.” Lewis leaves, but looks back before closing the door. The woman is no longer paying attention to him. She takes the seat where Lewis was sitting, and turns her gaze towards Dan and Phil. When the door closes, the room becomes silent; apart from the distant sirens there’s no sound. The woman observes them with such an intense look, it makes Phil feel embarrassed. Finally, she speaks. “My name is Claire Seaton, I’m the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside Police. Now, I’ve heard you know what happened.”

It’s not a question. She doesn’t seem to be asking if they lost their minds or wondering whether they’re telling the truth. “Yeah, we’ve uh..” Dan starts.

“Good,” she says, which surprises both of them. “Dark times are ahead of us. I do believe the extremist movement, Enlightenment, is real and we need to act against them, as soon as possible.”

Dan and Phil are speechless. There’s someone sitting in front of them, someone important, stating bluntly that she knows about powers. With everything going on, this is the most surprising thing they’ve heard all day.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure we’re following…” Dan says.

“I know what happened today. I know that there was someone who had some kind of power and the explosion was their fault.”

“You believe in powers?” Phil asks, feeling some sort of hope. “I mean, do you…?”

“No, I don’t have it,” she says with a smile which makes her look 20 years younger. “My daughter. Invisibility. But this is why I’m asking you. We could talk about this for weeks, but time is of the essence. We need to act quickly. You’re both likeable, young and I reckon people would listen to you.”

Dan starts laughing. “Okay, excuse my language, but hold your horses. So you know everything that really went down today and you also know about powers. You’re saying that group is real and threatening everyone. I can accept this. But what is it you’re exactly asking?”

She sighs then stands up and walks to the window. She’s quiet for a few long moments. _Can you hear what she’s thinking?_ Phil asks Dan who shakes his head in response. “No, she’s too far, I’m guessing,” he whispers.

“It’s been happening for a while now. We wanted to keep quiet, to protect both normal people and people like you. In August, we set up a department within the government called DoSHA. Department of Superhuman Abilities. We’re using Department of Social Housing Assistance as a decoy. Only a handful people know about it: the PM, the Queen and anyone involved, so about 20 or so. We’ve been collecting data about superhumans like yourselves.”

“Wow, okay, not creepy at all,” Dan says with an eyeroll. “And I’m guessing you wanted to use us to fight your wars?”

“Mr Howell, you don’t understand. We’ve never wanted this to get violent. We wanted these powers to thrive, safely, without any threats. We wanted to protect them. What we’re trying to achieve here is peace, nothing else. DoSHA is not about wars or violent actions. We’ve been trying to keep _this,”_ she points outside, “from happening. But today, we failed. So tomorrow, we will be issuing a statement and informing the UN. We’re hoping that, after Christmas, we can hold talks around the globe on how to keep the peace between people and superhumans. We want to educated everyone on this.”

“This is…” Phil says, but doesn’t know how to finish it. It’s stupid, but it does make sense.

“No, it doesn’t, Phil,” Dan scoffs. “Don’t you see it? They’re writing all our information in a big computer that will ‘accidentally’ be hacked by those bloody extremist and whoops, next thing you know, we’re dead.”

Seaton turns around; she’s truly surprised. “Mr Howell, that is not the case, I can assure you. We want you and Mr Lester to be the ambassadors, represent superhumans. You are both essential to this mission.”

“Still bullshit,” Dan says.

Seaton sits back in the chair. “I know what you mean. If I were you, I’d act the same. But here’s what’s going to happen. The statement will go live tomorrow at 10 am, an hour after informing the UN. In the first week of January, I would like both of you will to travel with me to the UN talks. Of course, I can’t force you, but I am asking you. Not as a politician, but as a human being with a child. I want to protect her and keep her safe, but I can’t do it without you.”

“There’s something I don’t understand,” Phil says quietly. The others look at him. “You’re saying you will be issuing a statement tomorrow about us, but that will put us in risk. There are people outside who are trying to hide what they can do, but this will put them in the spotlight.”

“Yes, unfortunately that will happen. But that’s why we need you. You could be leading those talks, showing people that powers are not dangerous if treated with care. Today happened because someone had an unstable power. It happened in Liverpool, in a suburban area, and thousands died. But what if the same happened in the city centre where everyone is shopping for Christmas? Or in London? Or maybe close to your families?”

Dan and Phil share a look. _“She’s right. It’s not good how they do it, but she’s still right”,_ Phil thinks. Dan stares at him. _“I know this is shady, but what else we got? The truth is already out there. I know this doesn’t happen in real life, but we saw a guy explode today. This might be good thing, Dan. I don’t believe it either, trust me, but we’re kind of cornered here.”_

Dan nods. “Okay,” he finally says. “It all seems like a plot of a bad thriller, but we’ll do it. If you promise to keep superhumans, as you called us, safe.”

She smiles. “Oh, of course. I’m so glad you’ll do it.”

“ _Are we going to regret it?”,_ Phil asks Dan in his head. As a response, Dan takes his hand and squeezes it. Once again, they stay in the real world. “ _Okay, we need to figure out why we’re not going to the void. But I’m glad we’ve got control over our powers.”_ Dan smiles.

“I’m guessing you want to go home.”

“Are the trains running?” Phil asks.

“Not yet, but I can get someone to take you home.”

Home. That sounds nice.

 

She asks for their phone numbers and tells them that someone will call them the next day before the statement goes live to update them on the UN situation. She also tells them to forget about Liverpool for now, that’s out of their hands. She wishes them Merry Christmas, then sends them on their way. (Here Phil says to Dan, “Merry Christmas, as if. We’ll be living with the ghost of what we did today.)

Their driver, Ricky, lives in Liverpool, but he was more than happy to take them home (for a generous overtime pay, of course). He tells them he has a baby called Emma who’s lovely, but screams like a banshee. Halfway through the journey he says, “Where to, boys?”

Phil almost starts saying where to drop them off, but Dan quickly asks him, “Where do your parents live?”

So Phil gives him their address with a huge grin. Dan then tells him that they need some time off, so they’ll stay at Phil’s parents.

 

At Christmas, Phil’s childhood home smells like gingerbread. With Christmas being days away, the festive feeling is everywhere. It reminds him of his childhood, of the times when he believed in Santa. He would put biscuits, a glass of milk and marshmallows on the table for Santa. He used to put carrots there as well for the reindeers.

Now, in his early twenties, while he no longer believes in Santa, he does believe in the Christmas spirit. He’s excited for food, for all the cheesy, Christmas music, to be able to spend time with his family.

So when he knocks on the front door, with Dan standing behind him, his heart almost bursts. Today has been too much emotionally: everything that happened in Liverpool is still on his mind as well as the upcoming announcement. Now, he’s waiting for someone to open the door for him and Dan; some of his favourite people are finally meeting.

Cornelia, Martyn’s girlfriend, opens the door. A brown deer antler headband is sitting in her bright red hair and she’s grinning. “Oh, Phil!” She gives him a big hug, the kind that lasts for ages. “Come in!”

She lets them in, and doesn’t even question that someone is there with Phil.

“Who is that, dear?” Phil’s mum asks Cornelia as she comes out of the kitchen, wearing a Mrs Claus apron. “Phil! I wanted to call you,” she says as she walks to them. “I didn’t know when you were coming home.” She hugs him, then looks at Dan. “And you brought a guest!”

“I hope it’s okay,” Phil says quickly, looking at Dan. “This is Dan, he’s my…” What are they really? Never had that chat, never needed to. And he’s never talked to his mum about his relationship status and sexuality.

“His boyfriend,” Dan chimes in with a charming smile. _I’d prefer my everything, but we’ll do it your way,_ Phil thinks, which makes Dan grin. “It’s so very nice to meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I wish I could say the same,” she says, gently hitting Phil with a kitchen towel. “We’re about to eat something, if you want to join.”

“We’re starving,” Phil says, only realising he has barely eaten anything all day. His mum and Cornelia leave and he starts following them to the dining room, but Dan stops him by grabbing his wrist. “Is everything okay?”

“Are we telling them about Liverpool? And the whole power thing?”

Phil sighs. He’s been thinking about it, mentally listing all the pros and cons, but now, this whole press release and possible UN thing is forcing him to say something. “I have to. I can leave you out of it, if you want to.”

Dan nods, but doesn’t say anything. He lets go of Phil, who walks to the dining room.

Thankfully the table is big, so it’s easy to place two more plates. Phil hugs his dad and brother and introduces Dan to them, but before they could start asking questions, Phil’s mum comes in with casserole enough to feed a small village. Soon everyone is eating and talking about things in life; the chatter is kept light and happy, everyone seems to avoid Liverpool. It’s Phil’s dad who notices Dan’s quietness.

“How’s the food, Dan?”

“Oh, it’s very nice, thank you,” he says, without looking up to him. _Is it your eyes?_ Phil thinks. Dan ever so slightly nods. _I’m gonna tell them, but I’ll leave you out of it for now._ “No, it’s okay, I’m ready.” He’s so quiet, Phil can barely hear it.

“So uh, guys, have you heard about Liverpool today?” Phil asks putting down his fork.

“It’s horrible. All those poor people,” Phil’s mum says, putting a hand on her heart. “It’s so surreal.”

“Especially that announcement by those creeps,” Martyn joins. “What were they called?”

“Enlightenment,” Phil and Cornelia say at the same time.

“Yeah, uh… This is not easy to bring up.” Phil looks at Dan, who seems to be utterly frightened. He intertwines their fingers under the table. They stay in the real world, which surprises both of them. They’re not in danger anymore, so logically they should be in the void. “We were there. In Liverpool today.”

“What the hell, Philip? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Phil’s mum asks, looking at her husband.

“Mum, hear me out. I want to tell you what happened but I need you to listen. Okay?” There are some ‘yeahs’ while Phil’s mum is still murmuring about ‘going off to Liverpool, almost getting blown up’, so Phil just ignores her. “That group, the Enlightenment was telling the truth. There are people with powers.” Confused looks, but no one says a word. “Remember when I called mum and Martyn about my dream? And then mum told me that nan was said to have powers. Well, I went to visit her and that’s how I met Dan.” He sighs and looks at Dan. His eyes are still glued to the plate. “I’m one of the people the group was talking about.” He waits for the information to be processed. His mum opens her mouth to say something, but instead, Phil quickly opens his hand to reveal a bouncing light. His mum and Cornelia gasp, Martyn’s eyes go wide, his dad doesn’t say anything. He continues with his palm open. “That dream was real on some level. But the plants, well, I can do that too, I think, although I’m not sure. For now, it’s just the light and… this is gonna sound stupid, but I can see the memories of a plant.”

“Don’t forget about the shadow thing,” says Dan quietly, but everyone hears that.

“Yeah, that too. I can become a lightsource, but that only appears on photo.” Once it’s out there, no one knows what to say, so Phil continues. “Nan has powers too. Clairvoyance, she calls it, although she’s never said the limitations. And Dan…” Phil looks at him.

“I’ve got this,” Dan says, either to Phil or to himself. “Please don’t freak out.” He concentrates for a second and the spirits pop up. Everyone is looking at them with eyes wide as they levitate above Dan. It only lasts for a couple of seconds, before they’re gone. “This is probably not a nice thing to say, but I can also get a general idea of what’s on people’s minds if they’re close enough. Our powers, they complement each other. Phil’s light, mine is dark. Sometimes when we touch, we go to this place of nothing for some reason.”

“So what that group said is true,” Phil continues. “The explosion was caused by someone with powers. With the truth out, although not sure how many people believe, the government will be issuing a statement tomorrow and they expect resistance from people without power so preemptively they’re taking steps. There will be UN summits and meetings and talks after Christmas and they want us in.”

Once Phil’s done, there’s silence. Dan is now looking around the room, so everyone can see his eyes. They’re not that bright, but the glowing is definitely visible. Phil waits for the shock to come. He waits for his mum to yell at him for bringing such a horrible thing into her home. He waits for his dad to send them away. He waits for the disgusted looks from Martyn and Cornelia. They don’t come. Instead, his mum stands up, and fighting with her tears she hugs Phil. Then, to his biggest surprise, she hugs Dan too.

“Oh, boys… I don’t want you be in any kind of danger.”

“We won’t be, mum.”

“Who knows what’s coming?” She says as she sits back. “I’m so proud of you for doing what’s right.”

“Do your parents know, Dan?” Phil’s dad asks and Phil can _hear_ Dan’s heart sink.

They’ve never talked about them. Dan’s never mentioned them and Phil didn’t know if he should ask about them. He knows he still sometimes dreams about them, but there are no names or faces to associate them with.

“No, they uh… When I found my powers, I was about nine. Couldn’t control them, so I was homeschooled until I was 14. My parents absolutely hated my powers and they were looking for any and every excuse to get rid of me. They finally did when I was 15. My dad hit me, but the spirits knocked him out. My mum told me to pack a bag and never come back. Didn’t even get my GCSEs. I’ve been living on my own since then.” _Oh Dan,_ Phil thinks. _I’m so sorry, wish you would’ve said something._ Dan smiles at him. “But I don’t blame them, even though I should. I understand how frightening my power is.”

“Dan, from now on, you’ll always have a home with us,” Phil’s mum says with a huge smile.

 _You already do,_ Phil thinks. “Thank you,” Dan says, finally letting up a bit.

After this, the true festivities can begin. They talk about dogs, food, Christmas. Anything and everything happy. Phil’s glad that there is some distraction, because he knows dark and difficult days are ahead of them.

Once they finish eating, Phil quickly calls his nan. She says she saw them in the middle of the chaos and how proud she is of them for doing what’s right. She also tells him that everything will be fine with the announcement, although Phil’s not sure if she say this to calm him or if this is the truth.

 

After dinner, Dan and Phil head up to Phil’s bedroom for some well-deserved sleep. Thankfully, there are no embarrassing posters left from Phil’s childhood, so there’s nothing Dan could mock him for. Instead, they just get into bed; Phil’s on his back, with Dan next to him, head on his chest.

“You think we’ll be okay?” Dan asks.

“I don’t know. I reckon most people heard that group, so I think people with powers will be expecting something. It’s just seems so...”

“Unbelievable? Stupid?” Dan helps. “I know what you mean. Most people and especially a government would laugh at something like that announcement ‘cause it’s nothing but intimidation. The fact they’re taking it seriously says they’re hiding something.”

“Don’t be always such pessimist , Dan,” Phil says and he pulls him closer. “Don’t you have telepathy?”

“Yeah, fair enough. That MP was telling the truth. But still, there’s a little voice saying that something bad is about to happen.”

“Cause it’s true.” Dan looks at him, shocked. “All I’m saying is that we can’t predict people’s reaction. If they’re like my parents, that’s good, but you and I both know there are assholes. Some people are still can’t accept gays or different skin colours. Imagine telling them that there are people who have superpowers they’ve seen in films. They’ll be saying that we have some sort of God complex.”

“I’m still worried.”

“And you have every right to be. I am too. But that’s why this UN thing, even if things like that don’t happen, might do some good. _We_ can prevent that.”

“God, you’re so clever,” Dan says, sitting up.

“Well, one of us has to be.”

“Hey!” Dan grins, then takes a deep breath. “Does it bother you that I can hear your thoughts?”

“No,” Phil tells him, and it’s the truth. “I have nothing to hide from you. Maybe once I did, but I told you because I knew you’d find out anyway. But no. I mean, you understand me more than anyone does, and that’s before the whole mindreading.”

“If it does, let me know.”

Phil smiles at him. The Dan he met was always anxious and paranoid. He used to be all consumed up by his power, the power he thought was in the way. He was insecure; he still is, but he’s able to deal with his demons. This Dan is a whole different person. He accepts his power and its consequences. Dan’s grown a lot since Phil met him. He’s just a beautiful person, inside and out.

“I was thinking, since you won’t have to hide anymore, we could move out of your basement. I have a nice flat, you know. Above ground.”

“Sure,” he smiles. “It’ll be nice to have natural light.”

“But you’re not bringing that stupid beanbag.”

“Esther and I go hand in hand. Sure, you’re amazing, Phil, but…”

Phil goes wide eyed. “AmazingPhil!”

“What?”

“AmazingPhil. My mum used to tell me stories and I had this story about a superheroes and I was AmazingPhil.”

Dan smiles. “What kind of powers?”

“I don’t know, something to do with ice?”

“Well, sometimes life has other ideas, but you sure are amazing,” he says, pushing Phil’s fringe aside. His fingers linger on his forehead, softly touching Phil’s warm skin. He bows his head, leaning close to him. “Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Dan kisses Phil, and for now everything is good in the world. Maybe tomorrow everything will blow up, maybe the statement will cause more trouble than peace. Maybe the UN talks won’t even happen. But for now, there’s only this for them: the safety of Phil’s bedroom and their love. Those are the only things that matter now. Everything else, especially the things outside that door, that can wait. Even if everything goes bad, they have this. The rest is the future and the future can wait.

  
  
  
  



End file.
